May 4, 2007:
Terrorists are coming with more ways
to get around the jammers used by security forces, to defeat roadside bombs.
Some of the recent innovations include;
@ Light sensors set off by camera flash.
@ Radar Speed Trap detector set off by a radar gun
(that's actually an old one, originally used by Irish terrorists)
@ Keyless Entry systems for automobiles. These were
modified systems, that had a longer range (over a hundred meters) than these
keyless entry systems normally have.
In most parts of the world, the cell phone or
remote control toy is still the favored method of setting off these bombs.
Where possible, just running a wire is preferred, as it is cheap, and cannot be
jammed. The jammers available to American and NATO armed forces can also be
obtained by most police departments. There have not been many takers, mainly
because the American Warlock and CREW jammers interfere with so many
frequencies. Hardly any wireless device works as long as one of these jammers
is nearby. That makes the security forces very unpopular, at least if there are
very few roadside bombs going off.
Iraq is a unique situation, because some 90 percent
of the roadside bombs going off are in there. The roadside bomb is a major
industry in Sunni Arab areas. The building, placing and detonating of these
bombs is subcontracted to one of hundreds of teams that specialize in those
tasks. The chief proponent of the roadside bomb are the Sunni Arab security
officials who used to work for Saddam. These guys are still well financed, and
that's what has made the roadside bomb such a major part of the Iraq war.