The Pentagon is writing ârulesâ that will supposedly govern the behavior of the U.S. soldiers in their handling of the Iraqi popular resistance during expected confrontations between the U.S. forces invading Iraq and the Iraqi civilians defending their soil. The Pentagon is writing rules of engagement to allow U.S. forces to use ânon-lethalâ riot control agents, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, claiming that the goal is to minimize civilian casualties if the United States goes to war in Iraq. But Rumsfeld said that Geneva convention treaty restrictions and other laws that bar the use of riot control agents in warfare without a presidential waiver have made the process âvery complex,â Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. âAbsent a presidential waiver, in many cases our forces are allowed âto shoot somebody and kill themâ but they are not allowed to use a non-lethal riot control agent under the law,â Rumsfeld said Wednesday, February 5.
So the headline's not quite accurate, is it? They're laying out rules for not killing civilians. Rules of engagement for combatants are pretty straightforward. But since it's our intention to not kill large numbers of civilians, we have to figure how to do that... |