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Friday, May 09, 2008

"Resistant" is Relative

The MRAPs we are sending to Iraq are better protected than the Humvees that we use for moving troops.

But the MRAP is not as well protected as our Abrams tanks or Bradley Fighting Vehicles. And even these massive vehicles can be destroyed.

So while the anti-war side spouts nonsense about the inadequacies of our military in preparing armored vehicles for Iraq which led us to rush these expensive MRAPs to Iraq, consider this:

The U.S. military is reinforcing the sides of its topline mine-resistant vehicles to shore up what could be weak points as troops see a spike in armor-piercing roadside bombings across Iraq, The Associated Press has learned.


Of course we should protect our troops while they wage the war. But the issue isn't about providing absolute protection for troops and then looking for someone to blame when the enemy manages to pierce a vehicle and inflict casualties. The enemy reacts. We react. Heck, even adding armor has consequences.

The history of armor in Iraq gets a new chapter with the demonstrated vulnerability of MRAPs.

The best protection against enemies is well trained troops killing them and winning the war.