Friday, February 29, 2008

Iraqis trade AK47 for M16

The AK is a fascinating piece of work. Very few images are so widely recognised as this "rifle of the people" whis is hailed as one of mankinds best/worst inventions -depending on who you're asking- .

Now, the kalashnikov may be a great rifle, but it's not perfect. While its loose tolerances allow for only the most basic of maintenance, they do wear out and break down. The Iraqi armi uses AK-47 rifles and alike, but those are starting to date back to the 70's now, and are due for replacement.

It shouldn't be a surprice to anybody that America will be supplying the Iraqi armi with M16A2 rilfes and M4 carbines.
This will provide the Iraqis with a weapons platform that is effectively a symbol of the west, as well as binding them to a greater degree to the American presence. I hope they fare well, I really do. I also hope that the fighting will die down one of these days.

Hat tip to the couch /k/ommando's

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