Chapter 65 - Improvised Explosive Devices

Abstract

This chapter aims to impart the history of improvised explosive devices (IED)-based terrorism in the United States; to explain how IEDs are made, discovered, and disarmed; and to make the reader aware of the likelihood of IED use in the United States. Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are complex constructions that require a high degree of sophistication for their effective use. As weapons, improvised explosive devices (IED) overcome most of the objections to the use of WMDs. Based on a blending of civilian and military technology and individual resourcefulness, an IED is limited only by the imagination and experience of the builder and access to a wide variety of readily available materials. Many of the precursor chemicals for explosives were well known to chemists before the industrial revolution. Precursor chemicals are often drawn from commercial products, calling into question the safety and potency of some of these improvised explosive mixes.