About a dozen swarming teenagers dragged the soldiers' bodies out of the wreckage and beat them with concrete blocks, the witnesses said. They lifted a block and hit them with it on the face," Younis Mahmoud, 19, said. Another teenager, Bahaa Jassim, said some looted the vehicle of weapons, CDs and a backpack. "They remained there for over an hour without the Americans knowing anything about it," he said. "I ... went and told other troops." If you are willing to believe these two teenagers then you can conclude that there are at least two GOOD teenagers in the Sunni triangle who are willing to risk there lives to notify our troops.
If aren't willing to believe these two teenagers then how do you really know that a swarm of Iraqi teenagers dragged and beat these dead or dying soldiers.
My point is that when it comes to determining the level of support we have in Iraq, this incident signifies nothing.
I am quite certain that the military has questioned these two teenagers extensively. I'm sure these kids know who did this.
I feel sure that we will capture the ones responsible (perhaps we already have them). They deserve more than "capture", of course.
I feel sort of worried about the safety of the two that reported this to the troops. For them to be harmed for reporting this would set us back badly.