Armored vehicles for Iraq may be delayed (BLAME *)

[babylonsister]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070428/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_lifesaving_vehicles;_ylt=AjChLqA3HpQDbDRD3Pu7utTMWM0F

Armored vehicles for Iraq may be delayed

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer 56 minutes ago

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq - The armored carrier has a grim black slash across its side, burn marks on the door and a web of cracks along the window.

Like most of the Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles in Anbar province, this one has been hit as many as three times by enemy fire and bomb blasts. Yet, to date, no American troops have died while riding in one.

But efforts to buy thousands more carriers — each costing about $1 million — could be delayed if the White House and Congress do not resolve their deadlock over a $124.2 billion war spending bill.

About $3 billion for the vehicles is tied up in the legislation. The spending plan has stalled because of a dispute over provisions that would set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

At a hearing last month, lawmakers urged the Army to get more of the carriers to the battlefront as quickly as possible. The vehicles, with their unique V-shaped hull that deflects blasts outward and away from passengers, are considered lifesavers against the No. 1 killer in Iraq — roadside bombs.

Military leaders say the carriers have reduced roadside bomb casualties in Iraq by as much as two-thirds. But they are not effective against the enemy's latest weapon — explosively formed penetrators, which hurl a fist-sized lump of molten copper capable of piercing armored vehicles.

more...

[FogerRox]

1. Same ole, same ole

M-117 Gaurdian & Stryker Armored vehicles.

These have been in production for years, yet they show up in Iraq in dribs and drabs.

[blues90]

2. I recall Rummy saying over a year ago

It is not a money issue it's a production issue . They will never have the equipement they need , this money is not for Iraq .

[bigtree]

3. goddamn incredible

trillions of dollars spent

[babylonsister]

4. ...and they didn't think to provide vehicles that might actually 'protect'

soldiers? If I was a parent of someone who died, I would be OUTRAGED!