One, there’s a lot more to the issue of Humvee armor than the PBS story would have you believe. Please see this 2005 story in National Review by military expert W. Thomas Smith Jr., for starters.

Second, we need to put this in perspective. Soldiers have gone into battle without the proper equipment from time immemorial, and will continue to do so no matter who is president or what he or she does.

The best example was World War II. From beginning to end, the fighting vehicles our troops had were inferior to those of the Germans. Our M4 Sherman had both less armor and a smaller gun. Sure, we had more, but that meant that our tankers functioned as cannon fodder for the Germans until one of them could get close enough to get through the thicker armor on the German tanks. The troops called our tanks “Ronsons” after the cigarette lighter: “Lights Every Time!” This was a reference to the fact that our tanks went up in flames with the smallest hit.

Look, contrary to what you must think at this point, no I’m not saying they don’t have what they need. I’m sure they don’t and every effort should be expended to get them what they need.