Friday, May 10, 2013

Stopping The Fertilizer Trade That Builds IEDs In Afghanistan

Pakistani Fertilizer Grows Both Taliban Bombs And Afghan Crops -- Christian Science Monitor

The Pakistani government is working with the US to make sure a key ingredient for bombs stays away from insurgents in Afghanistan, but that effort may be having an unintended casualty.

The Pakistani government and the region's largest fertilizer manufacturer are working with the United States to play a more active role in making sure a key ingredient for homemade bombs stays out of the hands of insurgents in Afghanistan, but that effort may be having an unintended consequence.

Homemade bombs are the weapon of choice for insurgents in Afghanistan. The Pentagon says there were 14,500 improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in 2012, up 56 percent from 2009. The bombs killed 868 Afghan civilians and 312 coalition soldiers last year. And many – if not most – of those were made using a chemical found in fertilizers.

By cracking down on fertilizer smuggling, the theory goes, one can also cut down the number of improvised explosive devices.

Read more ....

My Comment: These restrictions should have been imposed years ago. As to the complaints from Afghan farmers .... the ones that they should bring their complaints to are the Taliban and their IED makers.

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