Soldiers Making Split-second Decisions

[FC]

From Investor's Business Daily

[May I add to this that the mentioned politicians aide and abet the enemy? Maybe they are responsible for our boys being brutalized?]

 

Friend Or Foe?

 

 

 

Iraq: The grisly deaths of two American servicemen show how hard it is to fight a war in which the enemy knows no rules and civilians can’t be distinguished from combatants. Maybe it’s time to make it easier.

 

 

 

 

There’s a method in the madness of those who kidnapped, tortured and murdered Pfcs. Kristian Menchaca, 23, and Thomas Tucker, 25, who were manning a Baghdad checkpoint with a comrade who was killed in the assault.

The jihadists want to give momentum to those in the U.S. such as Rep. John Murtha and Sen. John Kerry who want to bring the boys home either now or by a certain date.

The terrorists want to create the impression that despite the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and the establishment of a new and permanent Iraqi government, nothing has changed. It’s no coincidence that news of the brutal murders hit just as Democrats pressed the U.S. Senate to endorse a hasty retreat from Iraq.

But there’s another purpose in their sick minds — to create a sense of mistrust and uncertainty between U.S. servicemen and Iraqis, to accentuate the already omnipresent reality that any Iraqi a U.S. soldier may encounter might be the one who’s going to kill him or her. The more suspicious our troops become, they reason, the greater the likelihood of innocent civilians being shot. And the more likely a premature withdrawal.

We don’t know the details of the kidnappings and torture/murder of Tucker and Menchaca. But the situation they faced at their checkpoint is not unlike the situations faced by the Marines being investigated for an alleged massacre at Haditha or the Marines who were shackled at Camp Pendleton for allegedly dragging a 52-year-old man from his house in Hamandiya and killing him.

This is a war where terrorists routinely kill innocent civilians and booby-trap their bodies so others will die as well. They use civilians as shields and masquerade as civilians, hoping overly cautious Americans will become their next prey. They follow no rules. They wear no uniforms. They could be behind any door. They could be the next person you see. They could be the last.

As war critics mourn three jihadist suicides at Gitmo, we have three dead soldiers who might have met their fate simply because, after Hamandiyah and Haditha, they took too long to determine if their kidnappers were friend or foe. If they’d killed their assailants, would they now also be accused of killing “innocent” civilians?

We recently reported on the case of U.S. troops being cleared of murder charges in Ishaqi, 60 miles north of Baghdad, during a raid that captured an al-Qaida cell leader and an Iraqi involved in making roadside bombs and recruiting terrorists. In the firefight, civilians were killed, but the soldiers were found to have properly followed the rules of engagement.

We’ve also written about the case of Marine 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano, who was found innocent of murder charges for killing two terrorists fleeing a bomb-making house.

Innocent civilians have and will probably continue to be casualties of this war, as they’ve been in every war ever fought. But when terrorists kill innocents, they are proud of it. And what they did to our three soldiers they’d do to us all if they had the chance.

We may have to revise our rules of engagement as well as our sensibilities. We may have already lost too many in a war where soldiers are daily forced to make split-second decisions involving life and death. And if they make the wrong one, they should not be charged with murder.

[Guest Guest_karlunity_*]

Most of the A$$holes who make the "Rules of engagement" are lawyers or PR flacks in the service of the political careers of Pols or the Media, who made damn sure that THEY were never within miles of a firefight.

May they all burn in hell. I cannot stand these maggots.

Karl

[swamprat]

First and foremost no female American should of been in this situation. Sorry ladies but war zones are not for you. I'm not saying you can't preform as good as males, I'm saying the males can't preform with you there. The American male ego is to protect the female. While trying to protect the female the male loses focus and endanger's everyone. Or the war zone should only be for females!

Secound I've been in the situation were you could only shoot if shot at first. I've lived to talk about this great strategy only because some other poor soul took the impact of that first shot and not me. I wasn't smarter or wiser! Just luckier!

Third and lastly. The American Armed Forces when called to do battle or wage war should be allowed to do so until VICTORY is won. They should be allowed to fight a no holds barred anything goes battle! No binding of hands by Congress or any other do gooder outfit. If you commit our soliders to die let them pick the how.

 

Rant off,

 

Swamprat

[dave h]

Our Forces are suffering the same problem over in Iraq at the presant time ! The other day a convoy on a recon patrol to check the saftey of a route for a Trade deligation ! Engauged a convoy of Iraqies from the Gov trade ministry Killing one body guard & wounding two others ! The Iraqies now want a appology & compensation !

 

Now the senirio as how it happened ! The Australian troops were given no warning of the fact of the Gov convoy ! The Gov Convoy tried to over take them ! All of the body Guards were in civilian dress but armed to the teeth !!!!!!!!! Now having been (Like swamp rat ) in a position of having to be a Gentleman & let the other party involved have the first shot /s before enguaging them & having to wear a Target (read uniform ) where as the other side chose to wear casual clothes ! I support the desision to open fire on a unknown heavily armed force that ar posisioning them selves to what could be assumed to be the perfect ambush ! I really think the idiots who belive there are rules of enguagement ! Should take up arms & go sit in the "Poo" with the poor devils who are being asked to do the impossible ! If this were to happen I think our Polititions would realsize very quickly there ain't no rules in a street fight !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Get's off his soap Box ........Dave

[Horsefly]

It's just simple fodder to make the Repulican party look bad and to sell newspapers.I couldn't be in the military at the time I wanted to join,but I truley believe I would risk shooting first,and worry about what'll happen tomorrow,well,tomorrow.Being in a jamp with the law would beat the hell outta being in a bar ditch with your head cut off.Jerry

[usmc0332]

A Marine Brother of mine said that the rules of engagement were troublesome. He didn't say that they could only return fire. My take on it was that they could engage an enemy carrying weapons as long as it was with personal weapons, just not crew served weapons like machineguns. Silly! He said that they had a bunch of trouble with the 'Hajis'(Iraqi forces). He said that they had times when maneuvering into position against the enemy, the Iraqis that were with them would change frequency on their radios and warn those enemy forces about what was going to happen. He also said that they would block Marines from forceably stopping vehicles trying to drive through checkpoints. On several occasions they shoved them out of the way to disable those cars with fire. One car they disabled belonged to a 'cleric' with his family and he thought he was above the rules. He ranted and raved at them even with many weapons trained on him. I personally believe I would want to stop before a checkpoint that was heavily armed, rather than risk my life and family and get my car shot to pieces. They engaged vehicles like that on most patrols. He was not impressed with the Iraqis in any way shape or form. He said that they weren't even trustworthy as interpreters, as you couldn't expect them not to give information to whoever they encountered. The society there doesn't live under the comfort of having set rules. Everything is negotiable. If you don't feel like stopping at a stop sign, don't. If your neighbor is an insurgent, don't tell anyone as he might get killed. He is your Arab brother. He might be keeping your country from becoming a stable peaceful home, but don't tell. If I lived in a war torn place my troublesome neighbor might find allah with my bullet. The Marines there are doing an amazing job in my opinion. They have never been known as great 'peace officers'. They were made to seek out, close with, and destroy they enemy. I doubt I could have stayed out of trouble.