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"You believe that if an IED goes off, anybody within a one block area can be shot and killed, even if they had nothing to do with the IED. Right?"

Belated comment - That is NOT at all what he said. Your inaccuracy rivals that of Reuters. He said that whatever happened - even if it was in fact an excessive response - was triggered by the initial IED explosion. There is a difference between troops overreacting after an IED - which may have been what happened - and a truly "unprovoked" attack, in which troops randomly kill civilians apart from the stress and confusion of a combat situation. Moreover, it is highly likely that a good percentage of those killed - including women and children - were in fact acting on behalf of the insurgents, or were aware of and sympathetic to their activities. The difference between "insurgent" and "civilian" is extremely blurry - deliberately so, in fact. It is part of the insurgents' M.O.

Moreover, it is highly likely that a good percentage of those killed - including women and children - were in fact acting on behalf of the insurgents, or were aware of and sympathetic to their activities.

What is a proportionate response to being "sympathetic" to insurgents? To the children of those who are "sympathetic" to insurgents?