Even if we all agree the rules were stupid, they were still the rules, and I don't want the military people breaking the rules set by their superiors. That is the way to chaos.
And I'm not sure if the rules were stupid in this case, I don't know all the facts. The reason you have rules is so that you don't try to make decisions in the middle of a fight that end up being the wrong decisions, decisions that have you fragging and shooting a roomful of unarmed women and children for example.
And yes, our people DIE because of the rules, and that's an unfortunate price paid for being a disciplined and controlled military force fighting in an area where we don't want to kill people to save them.
Nobody cared if we killed all the germans in WW2, they were the enemy. But the "Iraqi people" were NOT the enemy in this war, we were "liberating them". It may well have been stupid, but we wanted to "win them over" and we weren't going to to that by shooting them.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1010/p04s01-woiq.html
[Rules of Engagement] Vary from war zone to war zone
Rules of engagement tell troops when they can apply force. They can vary from war zone to war zone, operation to operation, and even mission to mission. They're usually set by "combatant commanders" - those in charge of an entire region, such as Gen. John Abizaid, head of US forces in the Middle East. But some rules must be approved by the secretary of Defense or even the president.
In conflicts like the one in Iraq, applying the rules can be difficult, especially when troops must make split-second decisions. Sometimes, the rules even allow troops to shoot at civilians, if they can't be distinguished as such and appear to pose a threat.
(Diana here: If the ACLU and Human Rights Watch are behind this, then our guys MUST be guilty. Yeesh! Follow the money, Honey! I know General Abizaid from various military schools I've taken through the years. He is an honorable man and an awesome leader. The Socialists hope to have his head on a platter before this is through. And THAT will be a d@mn shame. No wonder he wants out in March '07. He sees the handwriting on the wall. This is the TIP of the iceberg as far as these "trials" go.)