Troops left to fend for themselves after Army was warned of flaws in rifle the headline proclaims at the washingtontimes.com. Anyone who knows anything about the history of the M16 > M4 rifle knows that it’s been . . . problematic. Rowan Scarborough’s overview rounds up all the usual suspects: inability to run reliability without constant cleaning, overheating issues, barrel failure and a lack of “stopping power” at distance (to name a few). The report cites battle failures and names names: the politicians and pencil pushers who protected Colt’s contract to supply our armed forces with an [arguably] inadequate firearm. Oh wait. It doesn’t. The Wanat debacle? Unearthed in 2010. In fact, Scarborough eases off the gas almost as soon as he begins: “The Times interviewed two active-duty special operations troops who noted flaws but expressed love for the Colt-developed gun.” Colt didn’t respond to the Times’ requests for an interview. So what did we learn? Google is your friend, as is a soldier-customized, well-maintained rifle. That is all.