So, the soldiers had armor after all... kinda.

In his Thursday, July 29th acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention, John Kerry said the following applause line:

"You don't value families if you force them to take up a collection to buy body armor for a son or daughter in the service,....."

The implacation was that Bush failed to provide any armor for the soldiers, and their families were forced to buy it for them.

Turns out the US soldiers who "lacked body armor" actually had armor but not the latest generation. NRO tells the whole story.

Previously the armor was made of Kevlar and was used to line vests and Humvees, helping to protect soldiers from enemy fire.

"The material is heavy and deflects only shrapnel, not bullets. In 1999, the vests were modernized: The new armor, known as "Interceptor" body armor, is about ten pounds lighter and offers protection against machine guns fired at point-blank range. The new technology is also used to make removable ceramic plates that line both vests and Humvees, and was first used in combat operations in Afghanistan.

Since the Interceptor technology emerged in 1999, the military has been gradually replacing the older vests. At the outset of the war, about 40,000 troops lacked the new Interceptor armor, although every soldier on the ground possessed the older armor. According to Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, industries are producing the new armor "as fast as they can and as fast as they're making it we're getting it to Iraq." Three manufacturers worked overtime to produce the vests and plates required to outfit everyone in Iraq by the end of the year, and by mid-January 2004, all troops in Iraq possessed the up-to-date vests. By mid-summer, sufficient numbers of armored Humvees will have arrived."

Would this be another case of Kerry lying?