Marine General: Press attention will make MRAPs 'symbolic targets' for insurgents

A US Marine Corps RG-31 Cougar Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle rests on its front axle after an I.E.D. detonated directly under the vehicle. The blast was pushed outward instead of straight up due to the vehicle's “V”–shaped undercarriage. Of the five service members in the vehicle, two received concussions and two others received minor burns. However, concerns have arisen that the MRAPs were designed for conventional roadside bombs, and may not have suitable armor for deflecting EFPs, which shoot molten metal into a vehicle.

New armored vehicles that give extra protection to U.S. troops in Iraq are becoming symbolic targets for insurgents, the top military officer in charge of acquiring the vehicles said on Friday.

The Pentagon says the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, which have V-shaped hulls to disperse the impact of bomb blasts, will save the lives of many U.S. troops and is rushing them to Iraq.

But Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan suggested the hype surrounding the vehicles was putting them at greater risk, pushing insurgents to see them as a challenge to be defeated.

"As we field these things, because of what all you are doing and how much you are touting the fact that they protect our troops ... these are becoming symbolic targets," he told reporters at an MRAP demonstration organized by the U.S. military.

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