Bomb Protection On The Way For Afghan GIs

Pentagon Will Send Almost 800 Bomb-Resistant Vehicles As Taliban Insurgency Escalates

(AP)  The Defense Department will send close to 800 more bomb-resistant vehicles to Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban has military leaders developing plans to add thousands of U.S. troop reinforcements.

The hulking vehicles, known as MRAPs, protect U.S. personnel from the powerful blasts of roadside bombs, the No. 1 cause of combat deaths and injuries.

MRAPs come in various sizes. One model, fully loaded, can weigh as much as 40 tons. Due to Afghanistan's mountainous terrain and unstable roads, defense officials have opted for the lightest and most maneuverable version, called the RG-31. Of the more than 700 MRAPs in Afghanistan, about 600 are the 9-ton RG-31s.

The RG-31 is produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada and a BAE Systems division in South Africa.

"It's the lightest. It has the tightest turning radius. That is the one that the commanders in Afghanistan want," Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, the Marine Corps officer who runs the MRAP program, said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press.

The vehicles will be shipped over time, he said. There is no firm schedule for delivery.

Faced with an increasingly sophisticated insurgency, particularly along Afghanistan's rugged border with Pakistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that sending more U.S. troops would help quell the violence.

"I think that we are clearly working very hard to see if there are opportunities to send additional forces sooner rather than later," Gates told reporters. But, he added, no final decisions or recommendations have been made.

There are about 36,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan: 17,500 are with the NATO-led force and 18,500 are fighting insurgents and training Afghan forces.

While the RG-31 is smaller, Brogan said that does not mean troops are less safe than they would be in much larger MRAPs, such as the Cougar made by Force Protection of Ladson, S.C., or the Caiman made by BAE Systems. Regardless of size, all MRAPs have a raised chassis and a V-shaped hull that pushes an underbelly explosion out and away from the crew inside. Heavy steel doors and inch-thick windows complete the package.

"You're splitting hairs," Brogan said of any differences in protection.

The varied sizes, a product of having several different vendors, give battlefield commanders choices. A larger MRAP may get the call to lead a convoy or clear a road, while the RG-31 might be used for patrols and reconnaissance missions.

Due to their design, MRAPs are far better at handling bomb blasts than the low-riding Humvee, even those with extra armor plating.

"An up-armored Humvee gets tossed around like a rag doll," Brogan said.

Dakota Wood, a military analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, said militants in Afghanistan understand how effective improvised explosive devices are. An upswing in those attacks combined with Afghanistan's dicey infrastructure makes the RG-31 the best option.

"The enemy forces seem to be using the same tricks of the trade that proved so effective in Iraq in Afghanistan," Wood said. "The smaller MRAP version is probably going to handle the terrain better and you're going to get that MRAP protection."

[babooph]

After 6 years -"bomb protection for troops"-the rich & connected in the States have not waited a week for any heroic measures they may not have even needed.Priorities you know.

[samsel3]

There are no benefits for Americans in Afghanistan. Your tax dollars and cumulative borrowed debt to finance these operations only benefit the corporations who purchased the oil& gas rights in the Caspian Sea Basin, nothing more nothing less.

July 15, 2008 Bush morning news conference:" Everything''s going well so far in the Caspian Basin "....

And the extermination continues:...........


February 12, 1998 John J. Maresca vp of UNOCAL oil appeared before a House sub committee. The purpose of the meeting was to gain support for exploitation of oil & natural gas resources, for the rights purchased by BIG OIL in the Caspian Sea area.

In his testimony he stated, "The key question is how the energy resources of Central Asia can be made available to nearby Asian markets ".

The exploitation option stated : "One obvious route south would cross Iran, but this is foreclosed by American companies because of U.S. sanctions (with Iran ) . The only other possible route is across Afghanistan, which of course has it''s own unique challenges. " He continued saying, " the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments,lenders (world monitary fund & world bank ) ,and our company "......"

UNOCAL and other American companies are prepared to undertake the job ".

[samsel3]

There are no benefits for Americans in Afghanistan. Your tax dollars and cumulative borrowed debt to finance these operations only benefit the corporations who purchased the oil& gas rights in the Caspian Sea Basin, nothing more nothing less.

July 15, 2008 Bush morning news conference:" Everything''s going well so far in the Caspian Basin "....

And the extermination continues:...........


February 12, 1998 John J. Maresca vp of UNOCAL oil appeared before a House sub committee. The purpose of the meeting was to gain support for exploitation of oil & natural gas resources, for the rights purchased by BIG OIL in the Caspian Sea area.

In his testimony he stated, "The key question is how the energy resources of Central Asia can be made available to nearby Asian markets ".

The exploitation option stated : "One obvious route south would cross Iran, but this is foreclosed by American companies because of U.S. sanctions (with Iran ) . The only other possible route is across Afghanistan, which of course has it''s own unique challenges. " He continued saying, " the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments,lenders (world monitary fund & world bank ) ,and our company "......"

UNOCAL and other American companies are prepared to undertake the job ".

[samsel3]

The Caspian Sea Pipelines project is being built through Afghanistan, Pakistan to the Gulf of Oman.

Oil & Gas will be supplied to Asian Markets.

Only UNOCAL & Bush investors will profit at the expense of the American taxpayer.

[samsel3]

Posted by beehive21 at 12:00 PM : Jul 18, 2008
Posted by six-six-seis at 10:24 AM : Jul 18, 2008

Both are totally clueless about Afghanistan.......

[beehive21-2009]

Propaganda curiosity CBS, Get the our men out of the way and bomb, till there ears bleed, kick some but.

[six-six-seis]

Notice how this is a newscast about Afghanistan,

where the Real war on terrror should have been fought and not at the Oilwells of Iraq?

[samsel3]

There are no benefits for Americans in Afghanistan. Your tax dollars and cumulative borrowed debt to finance these operations only benefit the corporations who purchased the oil& gas rights in the Caspian Sea Basin, nothing more nothing less.

July 15, 2008 Bush morning news conference:" Everything''s going well so far in the Caspian Basin "....

And the extermination continues:...........


February 12, 1998 John J. Maresca vp of UNOCAL oil appeared before a House sub committee. The purpose of the meeting was to gain support for exploitation of oil & natural gas resources, for the rights purchased by BIG OIL in the Caspian Sea area.

In his testimony he stated, "The key question is how the energy resources of Central Asia can be made available to nearby Asian markets ".

The exploitation option stated : "One obvious route south would cross Iran, but this is foreclosed by American companies because of U.S. sanctions (with Iran ) . The only other possible route is across Afghanistan, which of course has it''s own unique challenges. " He continued saying, " the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments,lenders (world monitary fund & world bank ) ,and our company "......"

UNOCAL and other American companies are prepared to undertake the job ".

[firststate]

If you wisit the department of defense''s home page has a lead for the basic story. If they shared any concern about "them" getting this information, they wouldn''t have posted it on their website where it''s available to anyone in the world, so it''s not really fair to give CBS, the AP or any news organization a hard time for reporting the story after the DOD has released it.

[wardoglrs]

Dangit CBS i dont think we should be telling this just yet.

[wardoglrs]

AP says: The Defense Department will send close to 800 more bomb-resistant vehicles to Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban has military leaders developing plans to add thousands of U.S. troop reinforcements.

Well now that CBS told everyone there coming
There probably leaving... Go figure :(