While military leaders in the US and Europe have gone on record that their worst fear is that unclear weapons may fall into the hands of terrorists, the terrorists' weapon of choice is not nuclear. They are waging daily destruction and heavy loss of life against US and NATO troops in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq with simple, homemade improvised explosive devices, known to the military as IEDs.

Whenever a soldier goes out on patrol, or a military vehicle travels down a road, they face the possibility of stepping on or running over one of these devices, hidden in the pathway, that will blow up, on contact, killing, maiming, and destroying troops and vehicles. IEDs have been the major killer of American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have also been used, with devastating effect, in India, Sri Lanka, Columbia, Somalia, and yes, in the Philippines. As I was working on this article, two IED attacks were reported in Quezon City. Russian troops have encountered them in the former Soviet Republics. In testimony before a US House Armed Services Committee, General Thomas Metz, who directs the US military efforts to counter improvised explosives, warned, “There is a robust and constant IED effort among violent extremists who are using it as their weapon of choice.” And, he added, “That won’t change for decades. We are in this fight for a long time.”

The threat is growing. General Metz estimated that use of IEDs outside of Afghanistan and Iraq add up to at least 300 cases each month.

In Afghanistan, in this year alone, there have been 955 cases. In Iraq, there were over 1,000 so far this year, far less than the 4,718 cases in 2006.

India has the second highest number of IEDs. Thailand comes in third, but their number has been on the decline since 2007. In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers are known to have stockpiled IEDs and the US military assumes that North Korea has learned about them by watching what has been going on in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While there is no immediate threat of war with North Korea, the US and South Korean military assume that if war should break out, North Korean forces would plant IEDs in the demilitarized zone to prevent or slow an invasion from the south. American and South Korean forces are incorporating countermeasures in their war plans and practicing them.

Although IEDs can’t win a war against a stronger opponent, they can be used for strategic purposes to slow the advance of troops or wound and kill civilians on major highways.