Blair Maynard wrote:

So Canada isn't armoring any of their jeeps because doing so would insulate
them from the populace? Interesting idea. Are there studies which have shown
this? Do they also consider the following factors:

Canada is not armouring its Iltises because they are clapped out and
awaiting replacement.

1. humvees with armor have windows that roll down,
2. although the vehicles are armored, that doesn't mean the soldiers have to
stay inside and buttoned up all the time. It merely gives them the option to
do so if they are transiting an especially dangerous area and there is
little benefit of passing out candy bars?

That article said that the Ilitis' replacement vehicle would not have made a
difference the crew would still have died. True, but that is a red herring.
Nobody said that the unarmored vehicle replacing the Ilitis (IMHO the
G-Wagen) would have made a difference. The argument is that an armored
vehicle would have saved their lives. A casual reader would come away from
that article thinking that an armored vehicle would have made no difference.
That is trash journalism it is most despicable, throwing red herring
arguments in to distract from the main point.

I would agree about the "peace-keeping" argument in that article. The troops
are not "peace-keeping," they are "policing," which is what Afghanistan
needs. And the Canadian contingent seems to be doing a pretty good job of it
too. Good for them. Casualties will happen in such circumstances, but if
unprofitable risks are avoided, such casualties can be minimized.

All this argument and red herrings detract from the main question:

Were the Canadian troops who died doing something AT THAT TIME which they
couldn't have done just as effectively in an armored Humvee?

No. Have a look at the photo of the crater posted in
news:alt.binaries.pictures.military. A HUMMV would not likely have
saved them either. A LAV would have, but one had already been used to
prove the route.

Believe what you want, but I doubt it.

I have been in places with similar risks and done similar things. I
have known the battalion commander for 25 years and the contingent
commander for 24 (he's from my regiment). I trust their judgement.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)