The threat of Afghan IEDs (report from Kunar Province)

[Zarawar]

YouTube - The threat of Afghan IEDs
There is no doubt that the nine-year-long war in Afghanistan is intensifying.

Roadside bombs are the main weapon of the Taliban, killing Nato troops and Afghan civilians alike.

Al Jazeera obtained exclusive pictures of a US military vehicle being destroyed in Kunar province, where the Taliban says the constant threat of attack keeps international troops trapped in their bases.

Al Jazeera's James Bays reports from Kabul.

[Zarawar]

@ Swat wrora,
You mean Anti Tank mines?
Although the Germans used it in 40s and 50s, it's a new invention in Afghanistan.
Most of the mines used during the soviet-war were already made AT mines. Whereas IED can be made from a mortar round, pressure cooker, ammonium nitrate, baking soda and what not.
During the soviet war the rebels weren't struggling financially as much as they are today. Not to mention, the entire country was supporting the resistance, both military and civilian wise. Most of the AT mines and the weapons came from super powers and other great powers of the world. The good (US) was siding with the rebels, where as the bad (communists) were the target, 100s of thousands of mines and other guerrilla warfare goods were flowing into Afghanistan. The rebels didn't have to worry about making their own mines (IEDs).
Now, it's different, the rebels are blackmailed, labeled, bashed and most importantly are in war with the good (US, still a super power). The rebels don't get the type and amount of weapons they used to anymore. They are in war with almost half of the world countries, IEDs is the cheapest and most effective weapon that comes handy in such situations.
You would probably think that all these foreign troops are dying in result of large scale battles? No!
More than 60% of coalition casualties are caused by IEDs, the rest are ambushes, sniper attacks, accidents, friendly fire and so on.

[Zarawar]

The rebels did use IED in the 80s, but not as much. Most of the battles were either large scale battles/ambushes against Russian convoys or attacking headquarters with mortars and different missile systems.

[Zarawar]

tru true.
but these improvised devices are what lead to the civilian deaths.

why don't we all protest against this?

Well, car accidents probably kills more people in some cities, but that doesn't mean we should protest automobile. Instead, we should work on enforcing strick rules and regulations to prevent tradegies. In IEDs case, since hundreds and possibly thousands have lost their lives so far, people should protest it if the rebels are using their soil without letting them know.
I was in my village about two years ago, a friend of me was telling me how he found some wires come out of a "byala/lwala", which then lead him to an IED and a spotter hiding behind apple trees. Next thing you know the elders of the house came out and everything got out of control. Lastly, they forced the rebels to flee their orchards and property and confiscated the IED and the spotters' weapon. Now, real Mujahideen wouldn't do such thing, but there are a hand full of black scars amongst the different rebel groups that perform such acts and then the entire organization has to pay for it (in Taliban case, they simply deny it).
Therefore, not only us but everyone should protest such acts, because end of the day, the poor will suffer and the political organization will be the blame. And we all know that pointing doesn't make any difference, once a bus full of civilians is blown up.
But, again this all goes into account ONLY if the "civilian bus" incident was an act of the Taliban. Otherwise, incidents like this have much more than we think behind it, and sometimes there is nothing we can do. It's unfortunate until this whole "War on Terrorism" chaos is over, after that we can easily identify and deal with the local issues much more freely.
Because, if you protest an IED being planted in front of your house you might be labeled as a "spy" or "Jasos" by the rebel oppositions, whereas if you let them plant it and an coalition vehicle gets blown up, the first thing they (coalition troops) are going to do is to raid your house the following night and kill a couple of your family members. Either way, it's harder and impossible to stop collateral damage, all we can do is try, pray and hope for the best.