[rollo tomasi]

Commanders had to plead for 3 years to GWB/Rumsfeld to unleash some sort of dog in Iraq; before that the ROE was "Compassionate Warfare"/hearts and mind Utopian wishful thinking.

Taking out Hussein was the easy part, the hard part was rooting out the Islamic fundamentalists that is still filling the void.

[tobyhill]

Obama withdrew all forces from Iraq and this is what Bush warned would happen.

[Beagle8U]

It didn’t take much time for him go after them in Afghanistan.

[Vermont Lt]

I spoke to a college friend a few weeks ago. He was in the invasion in ‘03. He told the the ROE was pretty much “If they were holding a gun, shoot them.”

He went back in ‘07. He told me the ROE had changed so much that his troops were afraid to engage the enemy because of the legal issues that defined the “present danger.” He said it was just crazy.

[Repeat Offender]

The war in Iraq started in 03......the ROE were NOT as you state.

I was there in 04. When we cleared Al Fallujah in November of 04......about 3000 dead terrorists in that city alone during two weeks would disagree with your assessment of the ROE.

I was there in 06......that was NOT the ROE.

I was there in 07....there was relative calm in Al Anbar, yet if you or your Marines were under threat, ROE = shoot to kill.

I was there in 08......the ROEs were the same.

We just weren't going to start firing willy nilly or leveling a city block over 5-6 guys.

I'm not sure where you're getting your information from, but it starkly contrasts with the ROE briefs I had to sit through before nearly every single combat patrol or raid.