Strategists Projected Iraq Would Quickly Become Peaceful

Jesus H. Thanks again. USAToday (03.27.05):

"In June 2003, the U.S. Army realized that it didn't have enough armored Humvees in Iraq to protect soldiers from a growing number of attacks by insurgents. By Friday, officials expect to correct that problem by having almost 22,000 armored Humvees in Iraq — up from 235 when the war began. Why did it take the government almost two years to remedy a deficiency that the Army acknowledges was costing soldiers' lives?" Army late with orders for armored Humvees

USAToday examined "Army records, correspondence with members of Congress and Pentagon documents" and found that the Army:

• Repeatedly underestimated the need for armored Humvees.
• Even after recognizing its miscalculations, were slow to order more.
• Once they had them, they bumbled around getting them to Iraq.
• Failed to take advantage of a defense contracting firm's production capabilities, as in the guys manufacturing the armored Hummers could have made enough to have filled the requirements.

The real reason? "The Defense Department had assumed that armored Humvees wouldn't be needed once the invasion of Iraq was over. Original plans called for the Pentagon to pull back most tanks and other armored vehicles to reduce the U.S. military profile as soon as Baghdad fell, because strategists had projected that Iraq would quickly become peaceful." Ooops. Apparently, the Pentagon doesn't keep figures on how many folks have been killed in unarmored Humvees. What we do know, however, is that "at least 275 troops were killed in Humvees in 2003 and 2004", which works out to one out of every four deaths by hostile action.