U.S. Troops in Iraq Face A Powerful New Weapon

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Washington Post

Suspected Shiite militiamen have begun using powerful rocket-propelled bombs to attack U.S. military outposts in recent months, broadening the array of weapons used against American troops.

U.S. military officials call the devices Improvised Rocket Assisted Munitions, or IRAMs. They are propane tanks packed with hundreds of pounds of explosives and powered by 107mm rockets. They are often fired by remote control from the backs of trucks, sometimes in close succession. Rocket-propelled bombs have killed at least 21 people, including at least three U.S. soldiers, this year.

The latest reported rocket-propelled bomb attack occurred Tuesday at Joint Security Station Ur, a base in northeastern Baghdad shared by U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. One U.S. soldier and an interpreter were wounded in the attack.

U.S. military officials say IRAM attacks, unlike roadside bombings and conventional mortar or rocket attacks, have the potential to kill scores of soldiers at once. IRAMs are fired at close range, unlike most rockets, and create much larger explosions. Most such attacks have occurred in the capital, Baghdad.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/09/AR2008070902396.html?hpid=topnews

[bdamomma]

1. it just never stops.

we need to get out, Maliki kick us out.

[jody]

2. War is a mother of invention. n/t

[semillama]

14. You said it, brotha. n/t

[Frisbee]

3. How long until we hear...

that they are being supplied by Iran?

[Jim__]

4. They've already made that claim.

From the same story:

Most such attacks have been carried out during the day and some have been videotaped and aired on the satellite television station operated by Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia and political movement. U.S. military officials said they have found Iranian-made 107mm rockets at some of the blast sites, which they said suggests the weapons -- or parts -- may have come from Iran.

[Indenturedebtor]

5. No kidding "In a shocking display of idiocy the propane tanks have

"Made in Iran by Ahmadinejad" for the express purposes of causing a war with Murika. Come and get us you Christian Pig-Dogs, we thumb our noses at you."

:eyes:

[maxrandb]

7. Now go away, or I will taunt you a second time! n/t

[maxrandb]

6. All you need do is look at the acronym being used

Not a far stretch to start talking about "IRAMs from Iran".

That acronym was definitely focus grouped! IMHO

[EFerrari]

10. No kidding. Bogus ugly stupid hype.

[endarkenment]

8. nobody could have anticipated that the iraqis would continue to resist the occupation

and that our efforts to adapt to their tactics would be met with their adaptation to our tactics.

This is just unthinkable.

[Ian David]

9. Rarely is the question asked, "Is our insurgents learning?"

Bush is providing them with the ideal training ground.

[LynnTheDem]

13. LOL!!!

That's hilarious! Thanks, I needed a laugh! :rofl:

[paparush]

11. IRAM seems very similar to IRAN...just sayin.

Bet we'll see some shell casing fragments with "Iranian serial numbers" any day now. The talking heads and retired generals and John Bolton will be throwing a rod, encouraging the president to "eliminate this vile proxy war"

[LynnTheDem]

12. The same Shiites we had to "free" from that brute Saddam, who kept those

Shiites suppressed.

Isn't it ever so much better the way we are now slaughtering the Shia!

Thank Gawd for president bUsh!!1!

[mikita]

15. just when I think

there is no lower limit .... THEN we get IRAM ... IRAN

and what percentage of the population will just go "uh-huh"... ??

It is SO depressing watching us circle the drain on so many fronts....