Atlantic Council

Combating the Global IED Threat

On October 17, the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center hosted a discussion entitled, “Combating the Global Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Threat,” with Lieutenant General Michael D. Barbero, director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO).

A video of this event is available from CSPAN

The use of IEDs by militants has made IEDs an enduring threat for both military forces and civilian populations worldwide. The Joint IED Defeat Organization has become the US Department of Defense’s lead unit for countering IEDs in critical areas such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Though IED attacks in Afghanistan have become more frequent over the past several years, JIEDDO operations have helped reduce the number of casualties in IED attacks by more than 40 percent since 2011. How will defense budget cuts affect supplemental operations like JIEDDO? What is the likelihood of IED threats to rise after 2014? Lieutenant General Barbero addressed these questions and provided an overview of the current JIEDDO mission in Afghanistan and the region.

A discussion with

Lieutenant General Michael D. Barbero
Director, Joint IED Defeat Organization
US Department of Defense

Moderated by

Shuja Nawaz
Director, South Asia Center
Atlantic Council

Lieutenant General Michael D. Barbero was commissioned in the Infantry upon graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1976.
 
In addition to Infantry assignments at the tactical level, he has commanded at every grade, from lieutenant colonel to lieutenant general. As a brigadier general, he commanded one of the Army’s Combat Training Centers, the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk. As a major general he commanded the United States Army Infantry Center and Fort Benning Georgia. Prior to joining JIEDDO, he served over three years in three separate tours to Iraq where among his many duties, he commanded the Multi-National Security Transition Command–Iraq and NATO Training Mission-Iraq.

Lieutenant General Barbero holds a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the National Defense University, Washington, DC. He is a graduate of the Army’s Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies Program. His awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit and two awards of the Bronze Star Medal. He has also earned the Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Ranger Tab, Australian Jump Wings, and both the Army Staff and Joint Staff Identification Badges. To read more please click here.

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