Improvised Explosive Devices in Southern Afghanistan and Western Pakistan, 2002-2009 by Alec Barker
This study both acknowledges and scrutinizes the so-called “Iraq effect,” which posits a central role for veterans of the Iraq insurgency in the evolution of Taliban IED tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) in Afghanistan. Without debunking the Iraq effect, we find additional causes and contributing factors – such as the influence of Kashmiri fighters – as well as instances in Afghanistan and Pakistan that predated or conflicted with those in Iraq. While acknowledging local reasons for bombings and bomb innovation, we also suggest a phenomenon of generalized and global TTP acceleration in which generations of terrorists and insurgents take progressively shorter periods of time to accomplish advances in IED TTPs, supported by information-sharing and training among fighters and improvements in available components.
This study both acknowledges and scrutinizes the so-called “Iraq effect,” which posits a central role for veterans of the Iraq insurgency in the evolution of Taliban IED tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) in Afghanistan. Without debunking the Iraq effect, we find additional causes and contributing factors – such as the influence of Kashmiri fighters – as well as instances in Afghanistan and Pakistan that predated or conflicted with those in Iraq. While acknowledging local reasons for bombings and bomb innovation, we also suggest a phenomenon of generalized and global TTP acceleration in which generations of terrorists and insurgents take progressively shorter periods of time to accomplish advances in IED TTPs, supported by information-sharing and training among fighters and improvements in available components.
