Friendly Fire in Iraq Takes Toll on U.S.-Led Coalition - and Iraqis
by Rawya Rageh and Todd Pitman
BAGHDAD, IRAQ -- They're told every day across Iraq - tragic stories of people dying in hails of gunfire, shattered windshields and car seats covered in blood.
Friendly fire - often at U.S. military checkpoints - is taking a toll on the United States and its allies, as the shooting deaths of an Italian intelligence agent and a Bulgarian soldier highlight the terrifying reality of Iraqi roads.
"They're just cowboys," an infuriated Abdullah Mohammed said Monday of U.S. troops who killed his brother Feb. 28 in Ramadi. Mohammed said his brother edged too close to an American patrol. "They killed him without any reason, they suddenly shot at his car."
Weary of suicide car bombers, U.S. military vehicles in Iraq carry signs in Arabic warning civilians to keep a distance or risk "deadly force." Similar warnings are affixed to fortified, tank-manned U.S. checkpoints around the capital.
In a country where insurgents strike daily, there's no doubt some of the force is justified. But Iraqi civilians are getting tangled up in the violence as well, at an alarming rate.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0307-10.htm
Interesting balanced Point of View.
this is the bi-product of invading and occupying enemy territory. Civilians are all victims, they have it coming for being there. They're dying for not staying in their homes and being good little prisoners of the Bush administration.