Published on Monday, October 13, 2003 by the San Francisco Chronicle
Iraqis' Guerrilla Tactics Blur Terms of Battle
U.S. Troops Struggle to Define Self-Defense, Overaggression
by Anna Badkhen
FALLUJAH, Iraq -- To shoot or not to shoot?
Suddenly, it was a life or death decision Private Christopher Hollis had to make. Someone had just fired at his 1st Infantry Division checkpoint under an overpass on Highway 10, and now, crouching behind a guardrail, Hollis was scanning some rickety roadside soda stands 200 yards away for the sniper through the scope of his M-16 rifle.
He could fire back at the dusty desert, risking the lives of the Iraqi children who had scattered from the kiosks as soon as they heard the shot. Or, he could not respond, risking his life and the lives of the dozen other U.S. soldiers at the checkpoint.
This is a call GIs in Iraq have to make every day. With Iraqi guerrillas mounting between 10 and 20 hit-and-run attacks on U.S. troops daily, U.S. soldiers admit that the pressure of constantly being a target has made them jumpy.
The only way to respond, they say, is by following new, merciless rules of engagement stated one night last week by Lt. Peter Katzfey in front of 299 Engineer Battalion soldiers preparing for a night patrol in Tikrit:
"Shoot to kill. No questions asked."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1013-02.htm