This morning’s must-read reporting is the NY Times’ account and investigation of a suicide bombing in Falluja last June that killed six soldiers, three men and three women. Here’s the bottom line (emphasis mine):
But an examination of the attack, pieced together through interviews in Falluja and the United States, military documents and photographs taken by marines at the time, shows the opposite. The military sent the women off that day with substandard armor, inadequate security and faulty tactics, and the predictability of their daily commute through one of the most volatile parts of Iraq made them an open target.
The problems mounted in a lethal chain.
A chain that led to the deaths of Lance Cpl. Holly A. Charette (of Cranston, RI), Petty Officer First Class Regina R. Clark, and Cpl. Ramona M. Valdez.
Several other soldiers were injured but survived. This quote from one of them, Lance Cpl. Erin Liberty, for some reason brought tears to my eyes:
Just devastating.
