The Defense Department plans to buy roughly 1,600 MRAPs by the end of the year. The plan is to increase stability while preserving the vehicles’ survivability — their V-shaped hull, ground clearance and armor, the official said. SGT. MARK B. MATTHEWS / ARMYFrom The McClatchy Newspapers:
WASHINGTON — The military ignored steps before the invasion of Iraq that could have prevented the staggering number of casualties from roadside bombs, the Pentagon's acting inspector general charged Tuesday.
The IG's report says that the military knew years before the war that mines and homemade bombs, which the military calls "improvised explosive devices," would be a "threat . . . in low-intensity conflicts" and that "mine-resistant vehicles" were available.
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My Comment: Almost 2,000 dead, thousands wounded .... and it is only recently that they the decision was made to allocate mine-resistant vehicles in the Iraq theater. What a waste.