Iraqis build armor for Americans' Humvees

Baltimore Sun ^ | 2/8/04 | Bill Glauber

[saquin]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - On the grounds of Saddam Hussein's former presidential palace, near an ornamental pond and fountain, a few dozen Iraqi workers are engaged in one of the most crucial military undertakings in the country: putting armor on U.S. Army Humvees.

Banging, sanding, welding and painting, laborers who earn $6 daily are creating from steel a lifesaving skin for American soldiers traveling in a dangerous country.

The workers returned to the U.S. occupation headquarters less than a week after 16 of them were injured and one of their colleagues was killed in a Jan. 18 car bombing in front of the compound. Twenty-four other people died in that blast, and scores were wounded.

The workers, who don't want their names used or their faces or creation pictured, turn out four armor kits a day, providing a 1,000-pound layer of protection for American troops who face daily threats from roadside bombs, grenades and large-caliber bullets.

"We want to help America," said one of the workers, a welder with a dirty orange shirt and scuffed mask.

[pointsal]

ping...go job boys

[baseballmom]

Great article. Iraqi's helping to save American GI's lives. It's good to see that good ole American GI ingenuity at work again. They always find a way to make the best of any situation.

[jolie560]

American and Coalition soldiers have put their lives on the line for the people of Iraq, and many, many of the people of Iraq have done the same for us.

Read some Iraqi Blog sites--We are all in this together--no more Dictators, no more Rulers for Life. We and they have experienced dictators in our histories. No more.

That is the basis of the American brand of freedom and many Iraqis appreciate it.

[mystery-ak]

Thought you'd like to see this.

[fooman]

We need to remake these out kevlar or something better. Sounds like these wimpy vehicles have never been good for actually fighting a war.

[Howie66]

Please send a copy of this report to Tim Russert.

[the invisib1e hand]

it's great to see things humming along...but i wonder where are all the sourpusses lamenting 'that big sucking sound' or the wages that are being paid.

[kylaka]

The only thing Russert cares about is getting the Bush Tax Cut rolled back.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the ping. We should be doing everything possible to reduce our casualities. This is good!!!

Be sure and see this article on President Bush's huge success:

How US Put Rogue Atom Scientist Out Of Business

[clee1]

These "wimpy" vehicles were designed to replace the jeep. Period.

Humvees will go anywhere a jeep could go; faster, with a larger cargo capacity.

The problem is that tactically, the troops need to be in a APC - politically, track treads tearing up the roadways would be a disaster.

The real solution is to provide the up-to-date "up-armored" humvees and/or other wheeled armored vehicles ASAP. That we didn't have enough of them on hand to send to Iraq is indicative of a military that is slow to migrate from a WWII or Vietnam style fighting mode, to the types of tactics/equipment necessary in lower-intensity urban warfare.

Our military is the best in the world; but we need to pay more attention to the new realities of the most likely threats and worry less about massive combined-arms clashes.

[fooman]

That was my point. Jeep replacement is not the standard, modern urban warfare is.

[Ranger]

Great article. Thanks for the ping. Probably one of the best uses of reconstruction money for Iraq I can think of.