The way that the generals have prosecuted this was is a crime.
By leaving our troops in the cities with the general population, being traffic cops and building construction workers, easy prey for a car bomb or sniper is appalling.
They could have at least told the general population to leave their cars outside of the city. But they want to be so PC. Its so easy for a suicide bomber in a car to swerve into a convoy and take out a number of our troops, eliminate that possibility by removing the cars to outside the cities.
When traveling between cities, have the Iraq army clear the road before our troops go down it. A little more common sense and a lot less PC would go a long way.
I think that proposal would bring the struggling Iraqi economy to a total collapse, and you really do not want the Iraqi soldiers to babysit the Americans do you?
You have hit on something myself an another former Vet have said from the day Baghdad fell, utilize the things that got you into the city. We should be there as support, advisers, glad to read that someone else can see the forest as well.
The Generals are taking orders from a group of civilians that appear to many of us to be more and more incompetent by the day.