YOU CAN'T WIN FOR LOSING...

The above photo was after a group of men tried to grenade us as we moved through this underpass. Everyone in the group, including myself, wanted BLOOD. It is hard to express the thrill, then rush of anger that comes when someone tries to kill you and you realize that you are still alive and have the chance to "pay back". Fortunately, none of the gunners on the vehicles opened up on the rush hour traffic full of innocent civilians. It would have made Haditha look like a walk in the park.

The guys that dropped the grenades had planned this well and waited in the clump of bushes to the right above the road. They were there the entire time under the noses of the police. After they tried to throw the grenades through the hatches of the first couple of Humvees, they ran along the traffic and escaped. Risking the locals was possibly part of the plan of the attack. (CLICK ON PHOTO TO EXPAND)

I have witnessed or talked to dozens of American soldiers who are supremely careful with the power they have with their weapons and held back when the risk to innocents was too great. We were constantly reminded not to shoot wildly. It's sad that the news carries these recent stories of the Marines and Soldiers who have murdered civilians yet haven't examined what attitudes were in place. There are recent stories talking about "being sensitive to locals" training but this was done in all deployed units years ago. These are not new programs, nor have American soldiers been encouraged to take the law in their own hands even when this would seem expedient and justified in the heat of the moment. The "recon by fire" that occurs after an explosion is rare but is understandable, even if not right, once one has had a close encounter with a sniper or IED.

The recent stories about Marines and Soldiers killing indiscriminately sounds like the military hasn't cared until it made CNN but it's just not true. The fact that illegal shootings occur is a fact of every war and the Iraq War is not been without this occurring. The Army has investigated and prosecuted without predjudice many soldiers in and out of theater. Understandably, it's not exactly something the Pentagon's Public Affairs Office has bragged about. Nonetheless, it has happened and is dealt with as it is brought to light.