Sunday, June 10, 2007

Coals to Newcastle

What may be a stupid question is prompted by this news report --

MAHMOUDIYA, Iraq - An apparent suicide car bomber took aim at a U.S. convoy carrying demolition experts on Sunday, collapsing a major highway overpass south of Baghdad and trapping American soldiers in the rubble.

The vehicle detonated beside a support pillar, bringing down an Army checkpoint and a tent that had been on the collapsing span, dubbed "Checkpoint 20" by the U.S. military.


Or rather, two stupid questions. (1) Why does Iraq need outside demolition experts? And (2) what are the odds that someone else would be demolishing a piece of infrastructure that they happened to be passing through?

UPDATE: Later versions of the story have changed the description of the US personnel from "demolition experts" to "munitions officers."

No comments: