I buy it. Collins was maintaining orderly relations with the Iraqi people in his district. He very sensibly concluded that kids screaming for candy running near moving vehicles could present a danger both for the kids and the troops. Biastre came into Collins's district and behaved in an insubordinate manner when given an order to desist from giving out candy.
But all of that is beside the point anyway. The far more important aspect of this story is that Maj. Biastre has been revealed to be the source of a war crime charge against Collins for acts that he (Biastre) in no way could have seen first hand. Based on rumor alone (and some suspect even the so-called "rumors" orginated with, or were at least enhanced by, Biastre), he deliberately and vindictively sought to blacken the name of a superior officer.
Needless to say, the enemies of United States policy in Iraq both at home and abroad had a field day with Maj Biastre's charges, taking the opportunity to demean and denigrate the integrity of US and British troops and to blacken the coalition effort in Iraq generally. Biastre also caused a breach in US-British relations at a critical moment when Americans had much to be grateful for to our steadfast British allies.
Biastre is a disgrace to his uniform.
By the way, contrary to what some posters seem to be asserting, I am not taking sides in this fiasco (although I am tending to agree that this Biastre is little more than leftover Clinton officer trash). I am still trying to figure out how the fiasco started in the first place and then got blown up into an international incident.
And I'm also trying to figure out why Collins lowered himself to getting involved in a dispute with this Biastre....over handing out freaking candy. This was handled all wrong, in my opinion.