Just a little EFP

For those of us who choose to pay attention to the grim daily reports broadcast from Iraq we are repeatedly told about the ‘roadside bombings’ that result in numerous casualties. While First Lady Laura Bush has made such instances sound like mere bummers in an otherwise flowery Iraqi status quo, one must admit that after hearing the phrase ‘roadside bombing’ oh so many times it begins to sound routine, especially since no American news outlets are permitted to film such brutal occurrences. This is obviously by no means coincidence that Americans must go out of their way to find footage of said bombings, and frankly not too many people want to see what happens after the cool explosion. In an article today discussing Iran’s possible involvement in supporting insurgents, The New York Times evokes powerful imagery by describing Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs), “a particularly deadly type of roadside bomb favored by Shiite militias in Iraq.”

“The weapons fire a semi-molten copper slug that cuts through the armor on a Humvee, then shatters inside the vehicle, creating a deadly hail of hot metal that causes especially gruesome wounds even when it does not kill.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/world/middleeast/27weapons.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast&oref=slogin

Ironically, it seems as though The Times is attempting to bolster support for continued, if not escalated hostility towards Iran (a surge, if you will). In especially implicative fashion, the header on page A11 even goes so far as to read: “THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: Lethal Assistance” (italics mine, bold The Times’). So, whoever could the ever impartial Times be referring to that may or may not be providing pernicious aid?

On an entirely unrelated subject, my previous blog entry regarding Iranian forces capturing of 15 British sailors has made a splash in the news, but not nearly enough of one especially considering the implications such actions might have. All the while back on the home front, the fortunate sons and daughters of the House and Senate continue to do battle over money and the dreaded timeline, with the former chalking up a not entirely convincing victory on Friday. Then yesterday, like the cowardly little man-child he is, Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), stated that he was not going to bother trying to block the proposed bill because his Little Big Daddy Bush will simply veto it. How glad I am that Republicans have gotten over their childish ways of the past! ‘I don’t wanna! I’m gonna tell on you! My daddy can beat up your daddy! Gimme back my House and Senate!’

“[This is] not surprising from a White House that has stubbornly refused to change course even in the face of dwindling support from American people whose sons and daughters are dying” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070327/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq

Perhaps the real reason McConnell pretends to be so coy is because when all is said and done, Little Biggie will have already pushed his GI Joes into yet another unwinable battle front, only this time there will really and truly be no more do-overs.