News photographs of a crack Ghana army unit now attached to the UN’s Congo force brought indulgent smiles to the lips of many Americans. Suspended from the left arm of each soldier was a round shield looking just as if it had been snatched from a museum’s medieval armor collection. “Quite a defense in the nuclear age!” a friend of mine said derisively. “Not too bad, as a matter of fact. Better than most,” was my comment.
The purpose of these shields, which are made out of light, strong aluminum alloy, is protection against the sticks, rocks and stones thrown by rioting mobs. In the nuclear age, stones function as weapons a good deal oftener than A-bombs, and have won many more battles.
Comments