Humvee update

There's a story in the NY Times today about increases in up armored Humvees. This is good news. It means the troops will be safer, and they'll be able to do their jobs better. However, this excerpt disturbed me.

The Senate passed a supplementary $239.3 million bill in November to produce 1,065 armored vehicles at a cost of $150,000 apiece, compared with about half that for a soft-skin.

Such measures have been fueled by politicians, military experts and relatives of soldiers killed in unarmored vehicles, as well as images of insurgents gloating around burning Humvees, rifles raised in triumph.

This article indicates that the drive to get the troops the vehicles they need has not been led by the Bush administration. The administration promised to get the troops the equipment they need, but they seem to shirking their duty onto the Senate and others.