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There was never any expectation of the Baathists following the Geneva Convention. People who would throw their own citizens into a plastic shredder are not going to stick at killing prisoners. We can expect more of these incidents, in all likelihood. This is war, and we must endure these losses.

However, we should adhere to the the rules of civilized warfare, whatever the Iraqis do. First of all, it is impractical to rebrief the troops and change the rules of engagement overnight. They have better things to do than read a new circular. We must concentrate on ending this war as rapidly as possible. If Baghdad falls within a few days, we can punish the higher ups rather than dick around with some Iraqi private. The worst thing we could do is waste time and effort on reprisals of no military value. That would endanger more troops. The best thing we can do for MIAs is win the war so we can find them and set them free.