No, but they could have shot first and checked later... we will need to wait and find out. A number of people in the DoD are leaking info this early for a reason, and normally that reason is to get the bad news out early. But we need to wait and see.
I think they are looking for something that will show how respectful they are of the Iraqi citizenry and they'd like an opportunity to beat up some of our Marines to convey this gesture.
That is my guess and I think the politicians will miscalculate the American public sentiment on this. They might even miscalculate the sentiment of many Iraqis who understand the tactics of the terrorists amongst them and understand the consequences of that terror.
If you plan to fight a war with no collateral casualties in a war with an enemy that is forcing a collateral casualties gambit, you might lose the war and you will certainly cause the needless deaths of our servicemen, as the enemy will continue to use the effective tactic.