DoD Requests Additional Funds to Defeat IEDs

Washington D.C.  Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine General Peter Pace told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the fiscal 2007 emergency supplemental request includes money ($ 2.4B) to fund research into defeating IEDs. The money is in addition to $2 billion Congress already has appropriated this year to deal with the IED problem.

Secretary Gates stressed to the senators that the IED issue is an overriding concern in DoD and that it has become the leading cause of fatalities in the war on terror in Iraq. High ranking officials in the military estimate that coalition and Iraqi security forces find more than half of IEDs that are emplaced and that a tremendous effort is expended finding and exposing the terrorists sources for explosives. To date, more that 435,000 tons of ammunition from more than 15,000 locations have been secured in Iraq. If approved, the addition funding would go towards defeating IEDs most likely through research and technology developments through the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO).

To download the FY2007 Emergency Supplemental Funding Request submitted to Congress, select the download feature in the link below.

Source: American Forces Press Service