It seems wrong to bring up, on a weekend when 10 soldiers were killed in Iraq. But the AP is reporting that an American bomb-disposal robot has been captured by Muqtada al-Sadr's militia.
Hundreds of these remote-controlled robots are now operating in Iraq. And they have been targeted by insurgents before, as a way to draw U.S. explosives technicians out into the open. But this is the first time I've heard of a 'bot being grabbed; anyone else know of one being taken before?
(I can't imagine the thing would be terribly useful, without the right controller. Maybe its cameras and electronics could be scoured for spare parts, though.)
For several years, there's been a debate in the Army over whether or not to arm these machines with automatic weapons and rocket launchers. I wonder how this 'bot-napping might impact that argument?
