A Car-Bomb Primer

In December 2005, the U.S. State Department published a color brochure about "vehicular-borne improvised explosive devices" (VBIEDs), or car bombs. The six-page document reported that the VBIED (known as "the poor man's cruise missile") is "far and away the weapon of choice" for terrorist attacks, "especially when operated by a suicide bomber" (see Page 4).

PRINTDISCUSSE-MAILRSSRECOMMEND...SINGLE PAGE

FacebookMySpace Mixx Digg Reddit del.icio.us Furl Ma.gnolia SphereStumbleUponCLOSE

The pamphlet bore the catchy title "When Broken Down Vehicles Go Boom!" (below). It included photos of car-bomb remnants (Pages 2 and 6) and a chart measuring the "typical container" size (e.g., "school box," "small lunch pail," "deluxe special service bag") against the "possible weight of explosive contents" (Page 4). Conclusion: "Concealing a 200-500-pound bomb in a sedan is relatively easy." VBIEDs are also the most likely devices "to cause mass casualties," because of flying glass and structural collapse, but "healthy individuals can withstand blast forces" (Pages 4-5). Though a 500-pound car bomb "will demolish buildings well beyond a hundred feet," an exposed person "out in the open" will likely only "suffer eardrum rupture" (Page 5). Security-coded "sensitive but unclassified," the brochure was intended for security personnel who protect members of the diplomatic services and U.S. contractors overseas. Don't miss the anarchist's recipe book of explosives (Page 4) and the detailed explanation of the three "general methods of detonation" (Pages 5-6).

Share this article on Buzz

This document was first disseminated publicly this month by the Web site Wikileaks.

Send Hot Document ideas to . Please indicate whether you wish to remain anonymous.

PRINTE-MAILRECOMMEND...RSS

FacebookMySpace Mixx Digg Reddit del.icio.us Furl Ma.gnolia SphereStumbleUponCLOSE

SPONSORED CONTENT

• Madoff 'n' Jeff
  Bernie Madoff and his accountant made the oddest of couples.
  Bonnie Goldstein | Dec. 17, 2008
• A Hold on Holder?
  Senators squabble over how soon to hold the confirmation hearing for Obama's attorney-general nominee.
  Bonnie Goldstein | Dec. 15, 2008
• Layoff Spin
  An ad firm accidentally leaks its "restructuring communications plan."
  Bonnie Goldstein | Dec. 8, 2008
• Search for more Hot Document articles
• Subscribe to the Hot Document RSS feed
• View our complete Hot Document archive

• Dentyne Says "Go Away!"
• Spelt It Out
• Wasted Time Warner

• Sign Up for The Root’s Day of Service
• The Gifted Ones
• Bailout for The Common Man

• Your New Small Business Committee Chairwoman
• Count Yourself In On the Money-making
• The Obama Stimulus Plan and Small Business

• [audio] New High-Tech Laugh-O-Meter Can Measure 11,000th Of A Titter
• People Like Food
• Area Teen Accidentally Enters Teen Center

• Inauguration to Close Off Most Bridges to District
• Advisers May Trump the Cabinet
• Obama Tax Cuts Under Scrutiny

• Israel: Why Humans form Primal Attachments to Land
• The Day After
• Fineman: Obama's Bumpy January