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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Courtesy of the magazine “Foreign Policy” at:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/05/04/war_dog?page=full">http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/05/04/war_dog?page=full</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><h1><span lang=EN style='font-size:26.5pt;color:#333333'>War Dog<o:p></o:p></span></h1><div style='border:none;border-bottom:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 8.0pt 0in'><h2><span lang=EN style='font-size:11.0pt'>There's a reason they brought one to get Osama bin Laden<o:p></o:p></span></h2><h2><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><a href="http://www.defense.gov/dodcmsshare/newsphoto/2011-03/hires_110301-F-RR679-717.jpg" target="_blank"><b><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#003366;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=969 height=645 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image005.jpg@01CC0BC3.5CC05AA0" alt="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/110504_wardogs1.jpg"></span></b></a></span><span lang=EN style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></h2></div><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Dogs have been fighting alongside U.S. soldiers for more than 100 years, seeing combat in the </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>Civil War</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> and </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>World War I</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>. But their service was informal; only in 1942 were canines officially inducted into the U.S. Army. Today, they're a central part of U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan -- as of early 2010 the U.S. Army had </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>2,800</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> active-duty dogs deployed (the largest canine contingent in the world). And these numbers will continue to grow<b> </b>as these dogs become an ever-more-vital military asset.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>So it should come as no surprise that among the 79 commandos involved in Operation Neptune Spear that resulted in Osama bin Laden's killing, </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>there was one dog</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> -- the elite of the four-legged variety. And though the dog in question remains an enigma -- another mysterious detail of the still-unfolding narrative of that historic mission -- there should be little reason to speculate about <i>why</i> there was a dog involved: Man's best friend is a pretty fearsome warrior. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Above, a U.S. soldier with the 10th Special Forces Group and his dog leap off the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during water training over the Gulf of Mexico as part of exercise Emerald Warrior on March 1.<br><br></span><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><a href="http://blogs.discovery.com/.a/6a00d8341bf67c53ef015432147004970c-pi" target="_blank"><b><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#003366;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=969 height=688 id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image003.jpg@01CC0BC1.912E8340" alt="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/110504_110504_wardogs2BB.jpg"></span></b></a></span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Daredevil dogs:</span></b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> The question of how the dog got into bin Laden's compound is no puzzle -- the same way the special ops team did, by being lowered<b> </b>from an </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>MH-60s helicopter</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>. In fact, U.S. Air Force dogs have been airborne for </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>decades</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>, though the earliest flying dogs accompanied </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>Soviet forces</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> in the 1930s. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Dogs usually jump in tandem with their trainers, but when properly outfitted with flotation vests they can make short jumps into water on their own. A U.S. Navy SEAL, Mike Forsythe, and his dog, Cara -- pictured above -- recently broke the world record for "highest man/dog parachute deployment" by jumping from 30,100 feet. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><img border=0 width=969 height=623 id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image006.jpg@01CC0BC3.5CC05AA0" alt="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/110504_Dowling107510662b.jpg"></span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>The scent of war: </span></b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>According to Mike Dowling, a former Marine Corps dog handler who served in Iraq, there's a simple explanation for why the Navy SEALs took a dog along on the Osama raid: "A dog's brain is dominated by olfactory senses." In fact, Dowling says, a dog can have up to 225 million olfactory receptors in their nose -- the part of their brain devoted to scent is 40 times greater than that of a human. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>"When you're going on a mission," Dowling says, "a raid or a patrol, insurgents are sneaky -- they like to hide stuff from you. But a dog can smell them. .... [Think about] Saddam Hussein ... what if Osama had been [hiding] in a hole in the ground? A dog could find that. A dog could alert them to where he's hiding because of the incredible scent capabilities. ... You can only see what you can see. You can't see what you don't see. A dog can see it through his nose."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Above U.S. Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade wait for helicopter transport as part of Operation Khanjar at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province in Afghanistan on July 2, 2009. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><a href="http://www.k9storm.com/images/intruder04.jpg" target="_blank"><b><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#003366;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=969 height=727 id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image007.jpg@01CC0BC3.5CC05AA0" alt="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/110504_wardogs3.jpg"></span></b></a></span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>It's not the gear that makes the dog:</span></b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> Military working dogs (MWDs in Army parlance) may not enjoy all the privileges of being full-fledged soldiers, but the U.S. military no longer considers them mere </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>equipment</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>. (The war dogs deployed to Vietnam during that conflict were </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>classified</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> as "surplus equipment" and left behind.) Today, MWDs are outfitted with equipment of their own -- a range of specialized gear that includes </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><a href="http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/10/01/rebeccas_war_dog_of_the_week_risky_business_in_afghanistan"><span style='color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none'>Doggles</span></a></span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> (protective eye wear), body armor, life vests, gas masks, long-range GPS-equipped vests, and high-tech canine "</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>flak jackets</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><a href="http://www.k9storm.com/images/intruder03.jpg" target="_blank"><b><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#003366;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=969 height=669 id="Picture_x0020_5" src="cid:image008.jpg@01CC0BC3.5CC05AA0" alt="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/110504_wardogs4.jpg"></span></b></a></span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>In August 2010, <i>The Register</i>, a British online tech publication, </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>reported</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> that "top-secret, super-elite U.S. Navy SEAL special forces are to deploy heavily armoured bulletproof dogs equipped with infrared nightsight cameras and an 'intruder communication system' able to penetrate concrete walls." The article also reported that the </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>U.S. Naval Special Warfare</span><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#003366;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'> </span></b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>Group</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> had "awarded an $86,000 contract to Canadian firm </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>K9 Storm Inc</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>.</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> for the supply of 'Canine Tactical Assault Vests' for wear by SEAL dogs." </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>The K9 catalogue</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> boasts an array of high-tech canine devices, from storm lights to long lines and leads to an assortment of vests -- assault, aerial insertion, and patrol-SWAT -- which are rated from "excellent" to "good" in protecting the animal from harm due to everything from bullets to ice picks. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><img border=0 width=969 height=541 id="Picture_x0020_6" src="cid:image009.jpg@01CC0BC3.5CC05AA0" alt="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/110504_Bite105865290n.jpg"></span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Lethal weapons:</span></b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> Not all military dogs are trained to kill. According to the </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>U.S. Air Force</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>, a dog only enters advanced training after a basic obedience program is successfully completed. The focus of this more intensive training is "controlled aggressiveness" in which the dog is "taught to find a suspect or hostile person in a building or open area; to attack, without command, someone who is attacking its handler; to cease an attack upon command at any point after an attack command has been given..." Make no mistake, these animals can be </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>lethal weapons</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>: "The average German Shepherd's bite exerts between 400 and 700 pounds of pressure," according to the U.S. Air Force. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Above, a U.S. Army soldier trains an attack dog at Camp Forward Operating Base Wilson in Zari district in southern Kandahar province on Oct. 21, 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><a href="http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/110304-F-CF799-518.JPG" target="_blank"><b><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#003366;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=969 height=645 id="Picture_x0020_7" src="cid:image010.jpg@01CC0BC3.5CC05AA0" alt="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/110504_wardogs5.jpg"></span></b></a></span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Fierce protectors: </span></b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Military dogs and their handlers often form deep bonds -- it's an essential part of the canine-handler relationship that is specifically built into their training regimen. The personal attachments are often so intense that it can take weeks of training before a dog can begin working with a new handler. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Not only are these dogs fierce assault weapons, they are loyal guardians. When Private First Class </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>Colton Rusk</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> was shot after his unit came under Taliban sniper fire during a routine patrol in Afghanistan, Rusk's bomb-sniffing dog, Eli, crawled on top of his body, attacking anyone -- including Rusk's fellow Marines -- who tried to come near him. Rusk did not survive the assault, but Eli was granted early retirement so he could </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>live</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> with Rusk's family. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>In the photo above, Staff Sgt. Erick Martinez, a military dog handler uses an over-the-shoulder carry to hold his dog, Argo II<b>, </b>at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, on March 4. The exercise helps build trust, loyalty, and teamwork.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><img border=0 width=969 height=631 id="Picture_x0020_8" src="cid:image011.jpg@01CC0BC3.5CC05AA0" alt="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/110504_NOSE108307498b.jpg"></span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>The nose knows:</span></b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> A canine's olfactory powers are well known -- dogs are now even being </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>used</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> to sniff out rare types of cancer -- and that natural ability hasn't gone unnoticed by the U.S. military. When President Barack Obama traveled to Asia last fall, an elite team of </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>30 bomb-sniffing dogs</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> were part of his security entourage.<b> </b>(All in all, it was a pretty cushy assignment: The dogs stayed in 5-star hotels and rode in vehicles tailored to their comfort and safety.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>More remarkable still are </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>vapor-wake dogs</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>. Scientists at Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine have genetically bred and specially trained canines to not only detect stationary bombs or bomb-making materials, but identify and alert their handler to<b> </b>the<i>moving</i> scent of explosive devices and materials left behind in the air, say, as a suicide bomber walked through a crowd -- all without ever tipping off the perpetrator. While not as expensive as some military-trained dogs, the cost of breeding and training these dogs cost is not cheap at around $20,000 each.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Above, U.S. sergeant Matthew Templet and his bomb-sniffing dog Basco search for the explosives in an abandoned house in Haji Ghaffar village during a clearance patrol in Zari district of Kandahar province on Dec. 27, 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#666666'>BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><img border=0 width=969 height=645 id="Picture_x0020_9" src="cid:image012.jpg@01CC0BC3.5CC05AA0" alt="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/110504_wardogs6_.jpg"></span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>The best of the best: </span></b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>U.S. and allied forces have been fighting a losing battle against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Afghanistan. In the first eight months of 2010 there </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>were</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> more roadside bombs in Afghanistan than in the same period in 2009. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>In October 2010, the Pentagon </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>announced</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> that after six years and $19 billion spent in the attempt to build the ultimate bomb detector technology, dogs were still the most accurate sniffers around. The rate of detection with the Pentagon's fanciest equipment -- drones and aerial detectors -- was a 50 percent success rate, but when a dog was involved it rose 30 percent. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><img border=0 width=969 height=581 id="Picture_x0020_10" src="cid:image013.jpg@01CC0BC3.5CC05AA0" alt="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/110504_Fin96160586b.jpg"></span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>A canine surge: </span></b><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Over the last two years, there has been an effort to rapidly </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>increase</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> the number IED detection dogs in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, the Marine Corps has 170 bomb-sniffing dogs, but has </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>plans to deploy</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> as many as 600 dogs to their program before September 2012. In late 2010 the Marines have also awarded a contract to American K-9 Interdiction for "as much as $35 million" to train and kennel their dogs. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>In February, Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos </span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>stated</span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> that he'd like to see "a dog with every patrol." <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Above, U.S. Marines attached to 1st Battalion, 6th regiment, Charlie Company relax with their bomb-sniffing dogs Books and Good one in Huskers camp on the outskirts of Marjah in central Helmand on Jan. 25, 2010. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Seeya round town, Moscow.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Tom Hansen<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'>Moscow, Idaho<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.2in;line-height:20.4pt'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#1F1F1F'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>