According to U.S. News, sometime late last year the military launched a new special operations task force with the goal of disrupting the Iranian networks that are funding, equipping, and training Iraq’s Shiite militias. From a tactical perspective, the most devastating consequence of Iranian influence in Iraq has been the increased lethality of IEDs. The U.S military had made significant progress in reducing the IED threat with up-armored Humvees, but Iranian explosives and know-how allowed insurgents to plant more powerful bombs. The crude explosive devices favored by insurgents at the start of the war had given way to shaped-charges packed with military grade explosives by mid-2005. And, according to U.S. News, the guys on the ground have no question about who is supplying the insurgents: