[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11836-11837]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       USE OF IEDS IN AFGHANISTAN

  Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I rise tonight to speak about the war in 
Afghanistan, but on a particular subject. In particular, I wish to 
speak about the terribly destructive force of improvised explosive 
devices. These improvised explosive devices, known by the acronym IEDs, 
represent the single greatest threat to the United States and coalition 
forces in Afghanistan. The impact of this deadly tool of war has been 
felt in my home State of Pennsylvania, and I know so many of our 
colleagues have had not only loved ones in some cases but constituents 
who have lost their lives because of IEDs. In Pennsylvania, we have 
lost marines, soldiers, and National Guard troops to this insidious 
threat.
  In the first 4 months of 2010, incidents of IEDs in Afghanistan 
increased 94 percent over a comparable period in the previous year 
according to the United Nations.
  In 2009, more than 6,000 IEDs were discovered, the vast majority of 
which used ammonium nitrate as their main explosive ingredient. This is 
the No. 1 killer of United States and coalition forces. In 2009 alone, 
275 American troops were killed by IEDs. In addition to the lethality 
of IEDs, they have a tremendously demoralizing effect on our troops. 
Just the threat of IEDs forces troops to move at a slower pace and take 
away their focus from the mission at hand.
  Ammonium nitrate bombs, often crude wood and graphite pressure-plate 
devices buried in dirt lanes or heaps of trash, are very difficult to 
detect.
  Americans remember, unfortunately, the deadly power of ammonium 
nitrate from its use by Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 Oklahoma City 
bombing which killed 168 Americans. It can be used, as we know, as a 
fertilizer as well as an explosive in the mining and construction 
industry. Its use in the United States is tightly restricted. President 
Karzai of Afghanistan has rightly recognized the threat and has banned 
its use as a fertilizer. Afghan troops and police, supported by ISAF 
forces, have begun a concerted effort to crack down on its 
proliferation, distribution, and sale. On Wednesday, ISAF reported that 
11 tons of ammonium nitrate were seized by Afghan forces supported by 
NATO troops. These 11 tons would have been enough to build more than 
500 IEDs--IEDs that could have been used to kill NATO forces, Afghan 
troops, and civilians.
  The Afghan Government appears committed to this fight and has enacted 
the appropriate legal measures and enforcement efforts. But ammonium 
nitrate is still ubiquitous in Afghanistan due to smuggling along 
supply routes from its neighbors, particularly along Pakistan's tribal 
belt where smuggling is a way of life. The Los Angeles Times newspaper 
reported last month that as much as 85 tons of ammonium nitrate is 
smuggled into Afghanistan from Pakistan in a single night, a shipment 
that could yield more than 2,500 bombs. Even as we heard recently that 
11 tons were intercepted, this published report says that 85 tons can 
be smuggled in a single night.
  Along with seven of my colleagues--Senators Levin, Reed, Snowe, Webb, 
Kyl, McCaskill, and Kaufman--I have submitted a resolution calling for 
continued support for and increased efforts and focus by the 
Governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the central Asian countries 
in that region to effectively monitor and regulate the manufacture, 
sale, transport, and use of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in order to 
prevent criminal groups, insurgents, and terrorist organizations from 
transporting ammonium nitrate into Afghanistan where it is used in 
these improvised explosive devices.
  I am committed to highlighting this threat and supporting United 
States and international efforts to crack down on the proliferation of 
precursor chemicals such as ammonium nitrate. The Joint Improvised 
Explosive Device Defeat Organization--JIEDDO--which includes coalition 
partners from the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, has led an 
impressive effort to combat IEDs at every step in the process. The U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency will soon commence Project 
Global Shield, which is an unprecedented multilateral law enforcement 
operation aimed at countering the illicit diversion and trafficking of 
precursor chemicals, such as ammonium nitrate.
  Pakistan has made efforts to contend with ammonium nitrate in large 
part because the threat has begun to impact the security of its country 
as well. Recent coordination between Pakistani civilian and military 
entities on the IED issue has been positive. The Government of Pakistan 
has formed an interagency national coalition IED forum. We are also 
beginning to see efforts at the local level, such as small-scale bans 
and regulations in the community of Malakand. I hope Pakistan 
expeditiously approves its draft legislation to better control 
explosive materials in the country and make a concerted effort at 
enforcement.
  We must exercise extraordinary vigilance in stemming the unregulated 
flow of ammonium nitrate in this region because of its importance to 
U.S. national security interests, as well as, of course, to the lives 
of our troops.
  The United States, together with our allies, must do everything we 
can to make it more difficult for our enemies to make IEDs. I am 
committed to this task for the long term. I also understand terrorists 
will resort to different strategies and different ingredients after we 
are better able to restrict the flow of ammonium nitrate. Implementing 
more robust and interdiction measures is important, but we also must do 
more to disrupt and dismantle terrorist and criminal organizations in

[[Page 11837]]

making IEDs. This will involve multilateral engagement, regulatory 
measures, training, and technological efforts, building border control 
capacity, and other means as well.
  There are a host of other ingredients terrorists can and probably 
will utilize in IEDs. But ammonium nitrate is what they are using today 
to kill scores of U.S. troops. We must do all that is in our power to 
ensure the job of making these bombs is made more difficult. When they 
shift tactics and use other ingredients, we will go after those too. 
Restricting the flow of ammonium nitrate is, in fact, a very difficult 
challenge. But we must do all we can to protect our troops on the 
ground across the world, but especially our troops in Afghanistan. 
There is no more important task at hand.

                          ____________________