An energetic reporter set it up - and made sure it would happen. Edward Lee Pitts, embedded with a unit going north to Iraq, saw the troops working with unarmored vehicles and saw an opportunity to get the issue some light. Good old American entrepreneurship.

Let's watch the soldier and reporter be given a couple weeks grace and then be trashed. The military powers will want to send a strong message that no one else should even think of exposing the shortcomings of US troops. I'll keep track of them and let you know.

3:45 pm addition
Given how FoxNews is trying to discredit the question because it was "planted" by a reporter, we should note how much support the question got from the couple thousand soldiers in the audience. You have to try and find the video that shows the huge cheering for his question. We also have to really understand military and press dynamics - too big a topic for here and now. Soldier pep rallies and morale events are carefully controlled and staged events. This question was one that needed asking - as is confirmed by the huge support given by all in the audience.