The Iconic IED

The caption to this Sept. 30 Washington Post article caught my eye:

"The IED is the signature weapon in Iraq and Afghanistan, as iconic as the machine gun in World War I or Persian Gulf War's laser-guided "'smart bomb.'"

I suppose this struck me because it's interesting to think of an "icon" as a weapon. If I were to think of the icons of, say, WWII, I would think of Rosie the Riveter, or the picture of the raised flag at Iwo Jima, or other similarly inspiring and patriotic icons of the time. But in thinking that, I realize that I have almost been sucked into the propaganda that those strong, upbeat images are meant to convey. Perhaps the result of labeling a weapon the "icon" of a war evokes the truer meaning of war itself, bringing to light its dark side, which should not be ignored.