Three updates. See below.

Online on their front page this morning, front and center in the New York Times is this headline:

In the Times’ hard copy, on their front page below the fold, they alert readers to the story inside about the latest “scandal” in Iraq as well. The headline (circled below) says, “Worry Over U.S. Vehicle After Iraq Bomb Blast.”

Yet if Stephen Farrell knows what actually troubles our troops about the MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected armored vehicle), he either did not write about it or an editor found it unworthy to report. In fact, nothing in his 1,320 word article Hopes for Vehicle Questioned After Iraq Blast supports the implication that the MRAP might have failed to protect our troops from blasts from explosive devices within reasonable expections:

…Over a crackling field radio came reports of injuries and then, sometime later, official confirmation of the first fatality inflicted by a roadside bomb on an MRAP, the new Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected armored vehicle that the American military is counting on to reduce casualties from roadside bombs in Iraq.

The military has been careful to point out that the new vehicle is not impervious to attack, and that a sufficiently powerful bomb can destroy any vehicle. Still, a forensic team was flown in immediately to inspect the charred wreckage, from which wires and tangled metal protruded, to determine whether the bombing had revealed a design flaw.

“It’s a great vehicle, but there is no perfect vehicle,” said Lt. Col. Kenneth Adgie, commander of the battalion that lost the soldier.

Three of the four people aboard suffered only broken feet and lacerations. Pending the results of an investigation, it is unclear yet whether the gunner was killed by the blast or by the vehicle rolling over.

But officers on the scene noted that he was the member of the crew most exposed, and that the vehicle’s secure inner compartment was not compromised and appeared to have done its job by protecting the three other crew members inside. “The crew compartment is intact,” said Capt. Michael Fritz. He said the blast would have been large enough “to take out” a heavily armored Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
…
On Friday, [Defense Secretary Robert] Gates toured an assembly facility for the vehicles in Charleston, S.C., where he described them as “a proven lifesaver on the battlefield.” He cited Army reports that there had been 12 attacks on the vehicles with homemade bombs since a push began last summer to send more of them into combat zones, mostly in Iraq. No soldiers died in those attacks, he said.

Either Stephen Farrell missed the known problem our troops have with the 12 foot high MRAP or the Times failed to report it.

Yet Michael Yon has been embedded with our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for much of the past three years and reported:

…these new gigantic MRAPs (big bomb-resistant trucks) that are being fielded in Iraq seem to be largely ill-conceived. I do not possess that level of expertise, so I’m not making any recommendation on the MRAPs. But I can say that soldiers in Mosul and Baghdad seem to be viewing the MRAPs with a jaded eye. Yes, the MRAPs are said to offer much greater bomb protection, but given that they seem as tall as a double-decker bus in London, the MRAPs simply cannot travel down many of the roads in Baghdad or Mosul, where they would only rip down power wires like those depicted above.

Our troops remain willing to take the fight to the enemy, knowing that is the way to win the war in Iraq. The MRAP might get them to the battle safely yet there will always be a need to put boots on the ground.

The Times also failed to mention what Bill Roggio reported:

Al Qaeda in Iraq’s network has been significantly degraded, but is still a threat. Al Qaeda remains active in regions near Miqdadiyah, Mosul, Hawijah, Samarra, and southeast of Baghdad in the Arab Jabour region. “Although the group remains a dangerous threat, its capabilities have been diminished,” said Odierno. “Al Qaeda has been pushed out of urban centers like Baghdad, Ramadi, Fallujah and Baqubah, and forced into isolated rural areas. Many of their top leaders have been eliminated, and finding qualified replacements is increasingly difficult for them.” Multinational Forces Iraq also estimates it has significantly degraded al Qaeda’s ability to fund operations by dismantling its financier networks and leaders.

Operation Phantom Phoenix, the current nationwide operation targeting al Qaeda’s remaining safe havens, was launched on Jan. 8. Iraqi and US forces have captured or killed 121 al Qaeda fighters, wounded 14, and detained an additional 1023 suspects. Al Qaeda’s leadership has been hit hard during the operation, with 92 high values targets either killed or captured.

Iraqi and US forces have also discovered 351 weapons caches and four tunnel complexes, Odierno said. Iraqi and US forces have also discovered three car bomb and improvised explosive device [IED] factories and 410 IEDs, including 18 car bombs and 25 homes rigged with explosives. Also found were “numerous torture chambers, an underground medical clinic, several closed schools, and a large foreign fighter camp with intricate tunnel complexes,” said Odierno.

But do not blame the Times; it is hard to find the real story while sitting in the Green Zone or Manhattan searching for a controversy in every bomb crater and casualty report.

Update: The name of the soldier killed has been released:

Army Spc. Richard B. Burress, 25, of Naples, Fla.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; died Jan. 19 in Jabour, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.

Update II:

Michelle Malkin linked over to this post (thank you Michelle) and had text and links to a report that Saturday was not the first fatality involving the MRAP and an explosive device. Yet the source later retracted, saying while the earlier attacks involved a mine-resistant vehicle, it was not a MRAP.

The New York Times placed the death of Specialist Burgess (while not naming him) on their front page without evidence the MRAP’s armor failed to protect him for the sole purpose of creating a controversy.

While perhaps the Times’ wistful thinking that the armor failed the resistance standards will turn out to be true, they failed to report the successes, to date, of Operation Phantom Phoenix.

In addition, the Times missed (or not) the fact the MRAP’s design is likely interfering with our troops’ ability to close with the enemy in urban areas and forces them to either dismount, use less appropriate assets, or not engage. I will leave it to you to speculate (I have stated my opinion) why the Times would miss that shortcoming. I will offer that if they are deliberately not reporting it; it is worth remembering they never met an American war or offensive weapon they liked and, up armored or not, our troops still go bravely into harm’s way. God bless them all!

Update III:

Sgt Hook linked over as well. HooAH, Sergeant Major!