We left the gates of Anaconda in Iraq about 10 a.m. The convoy was going fine and it was almost a regular day in Iraq; there were cars up and down the four lane highways and there were people everywhere in all the towns; it was a normal day.
Prior to the ambush things were pretty quiet. The assets needed for convoy security were most likely being used elsewhere for digging out known bad guys.
Assets are not unlimited.
But 20 trucks full of gasoline get shot up within 10 miles of the airport? Wouldn't one Apache have been able to kill hundreds of them?