How do you explain to the thousands of American troops now being poured into Baghdad that they will have to wait until the summer for the protective armour that could easily mean the difference between life and death? According to an article in The Washington Post this week, at least some of the troops will be sent out in Humvees not yet equipped with FRAG Kit 5 armour. That’s an advanced version designed to reduce deaths from roadside bombs, which now account for about 70 per cent of US casualties in Iraq.

The Army, the National Guard and the Marine Corps have been caught behind the curve. Unglamorous and relatively inexpensive staples of ground combat, like armour, have never really captured the imagination and attention of military contractors and Pentagon budget-makers the way that “Top Gun” fighter jets, stealthy warships and “Star Wars” missile interceptors generally do. The Army says it is now accelerating its production of FRAG Kit 5 armour and handing it out to Baghdad-bound units on a priority basis. But it acknowledges that the armour upgrading project will not be completed until summer.

The new American drive in Baghdad has already begun. That’s a shame, if not an outright scandal, because up-to-date armour is essential for saving American lives. — The New York Times