[P-Marlowe]

Now if we can just change the rules of engagement from "don't fire until you see the smoke from their bombs" to "shoot first and ask questions later", we might just win this war.

[RobbyS]

Agree with you there.

[xzins]

shoot first and ask questions later

Believe it or not, that is one of the charges against the Staff Sergeant who led the Haditha Marines, that he used nearly those exact same words.

And the truth is: they were a fairly good summation of the current Rules of Engagement.

It's criminal for us to tell our troops to give the enemy a free shot before they get to fire back.

[freeperfromnj]

Twenty-thousand extra troops won't make a dent under the disheveled and disorganized practice of the rules of engagement, which are a joke.

I was shocked to learn how limited our troops are. Just read this today in the NY Post. Quote from a NYC firefighter who recently returned from Iraq:

BRAVEST ADVICE

....There are seven different levels you have to think through before you can fire your weapon - and that's under battlefield conditions.

"Our military can't fire their weapons on the enemy. We virtually can only return fire when we see someone shooting at us, and that may be too late. That's not how you fight a war."......

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01092007/news/columnists/bravest_advice_columnists_steve_dunleavy.htm