Word: afghanistan
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...That why the Pentagon has ordered more than 5,000 of the M-ATVs (called "baby MRAPs" by some) for its Afghanistan forces. These vehicles and their V-shaped hulls are designed to deflect the blasts of roadside bombs, which have become the Taliban's weapon of choice. Such improvised explosive devices killed only a single U.S. soldier in 2003 but have killed more than 100 so far this year, accounting for nearly half of the U.S. deaths...
...eight U.S. troops killed Tuesday had been aboard 20-ton Stryker vehicles that hit IEDs. That's about the same weight as many MRAPs in Iraq, and several tons heavier than those now being delivered to Afghanistan (various classes of each vehicle make weight comparisons tricky). The MRAP program, championed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, has won praise from soldiers for the protection the vehicles offer them from roadside bombs. There are some 12,000 MRAPs in Iraq, and 3,600 of the original MRAPs in Afghanistan, up from almost none last year. The U.S. has spent nearly $30 billion...
...being built in Wisconsin by Oshkosh Defense. Capable of carrying five soldiers (the original MRAPs carry between seven and 13), they're sent to South Carolina, where they're outfitted with communications and other government-supplied gear, before U.S. Air Force cargo planes deliver them on daily flights to Afghanistan. Eventually, they'll go more slowly, and cheaply, by sea. "We'll have them there no later than March," Mullen said of the 5,000 M-ATVs. "We recognize that is the principal threat...
...usual in war, the enemy gets a vote. Just as these new, lighter MRAPs are reaching U.S. troops in Afghanistan, evidence continues to mount that Iran - which helped Iraqi insurgents develop particularly lethal explosively formed penetrator (EFP) IEDs - may be doing the same thing in Afghanistan. Dennis Blair, the director of national intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this year that "Iran has both long-term strategic and short-term tactical interests in Afghanistan and is not content with merely maintaining the status quo." Its desire to undermine "Western influence in Afghanistan" had led it to provide "select Afghan...
...June, Gates charged that Tehran was playing a "double game" in Afghanistan, seeking good relations with Kabul while funneling arms to insurgents. "They profess to have warm relations with the Afghan government," Gates said. "At the same time, they're sending in a relatively modest level of weapons and capabilities to attack ... coalition forces." In August, Afghan forces discovered a cache of weapons - including EFPs - in the western part of the country that shares a border with Iran...