The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization released a broad agency announcement on Jan. 17 calling for proposals that could help curb the spread of the kinds of homemade explosives widely used in IEDs in Afghanistan. The problem of precursor materials for homemade bombs used against U.S. forces in Afghanistan revolves almost exclusively around fertilizer production in neighboring Pakistan. Two calcium ammonium nitrate plants there are the sources for the majority of explosives used in IED attacks, defense officials have...