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I knew this story was out there, but had to search a bit to find it this morning.
BAGHDAD, Iraq Jan 6, 2005 - A roadside bomb killed seven U.S. soldiers in northwest Baghdad and two Marines were killed in western Iraq on Thursday, the deadliest day for American forces since a suicide attack on a U.S. base last month.A typical throwback there. After all, the stylebook dictates that one attack isn't enough for the first paragraph of any Iraq story these days. But by all means, if you must go back three weeks to find a second event please do so.
Oddly enough it hasn't yet make the "front page" of the online NY Times or Washington Post, where those numbers of dead usually promote rapid headline generation.
But the media might have some difficulties with a fact in paragraph 5 of the AP version:
The soldiers with Task Force Baghdad were on patrol Thursday evening when their Bradley fighting vehicle hit the explosive, the military said in a statement. Everyone inside the Bradley was killed.The heavily armored Bradley is often mistaken for a tank - this detail is not mentioned in the story. In fact the word "armor" does not appear at all.
Nor do any quotes from Donald Rumsfeld.
Like this one: "And if you think about it, you can have all the armor in the world on a tank and a tank can be blown up."
Tragic verification of that point, and perhaps troubling to those in the media seeking spin. After all, he was thrashed by the clueless for being "insensitive" when he said it as part of the full response to the question about armor from a young Soldier in Kuwait.
CNN does link from their front page via the headline Officials: Roadside bomb kills seven troops. They offer this helpful description of the strength of the blast:
The blast flipped the 50,000-plus-pound Bradley Fighting Vehicle upside down and into a ditch, said Lt. Col. James Hutton, a 1st Cavalry spokesman. Rescue efforts were hampered by flames and secondary explosions, he said.A possible "incresingly powerful insurgency" storyline may evolve.
We'll see how (or if?) the media handles it throughout the day today.
