Driving on Iraq’s roads

Allan Wall writes from Iraq:

I went on a few convoys lately. You’re just driving down the highway, and you can see big holes in the road, they’re craters from previous IEDs.

There are precautions soldiers take to reduce the risk: driving armored vehicles, wearing armor, carrying enough ammo, knowing the route, having the vehicles in good working order, etc.

And yet, you could be the best soldier in the world, and do all these things, and still get killed by an IED.

When we left on the convoy I prayed to God for protection, and then I just enjoyed the scenery. And I don’t mean to be flippant about the scenery. It is important to watch the scenery, in case you might see something suspicious that could portend an attack. Once again, you can be very vigilant however, and still get blown away.

IEDs account for about a quarter of the total of all our dead since the initial invasion of 2003. But nowadays, they are killing more of our soldiers than anything.

Let’s keep Allan in our thoughts and our prayers.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at November 21, 2005 02:17 PM | Send