The Battle for Mosul: Reality Check

Sunday, August 28th, 2005

In The Battle for Mosul: Reality Check, Michael Yon explains the difficulty of making explosions connect with a target at the right time:

The Chinese first began using gunpowder a thousand years ago, and quickly realized that making a bomb and using it effectively are two different problems. They made rockets from bamboo, and invented grenades. The real challenge is making the explosions connect with a target at the right time, in the right way; meaning, there is an optimal point and moment for initiation. Achieving both of these simultaneously can be extremely difficult.

What’s true for simple IEDs also holds for large car bombs against armored targets — if the timing is off, by as little as a quarter-second as the vehicle drives by… BLAM! …everyone inside the vehicle might be fine.

Definitely watch the video clip.

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