ROE changes

According to the Washington Post this morning, rules of engagement for our troops in regards to Iranian agents has changed;

For more than a year, U.S. forces in Iraq have secretly detained dozens of suspected Iranian agents, holding them for three to four days at a time. The “catch and release” policy was designed to avoid escalating tensions with Iran and yet intimidate its emissaries. U.S. forces collected DNA samples from some of the Iranians without their knowledge, subjected others to retina scans, and fingerprinted and photographed all of them before letting them go.

Last summer, however, senior administration officials decided that a more confrontational approach was necessary, as Iran’s regional influence grew and U.S. efforts to isolate Tehran appeared to be failing. The country’s nuclear work was advancing, U.S. allies were resisting robust sanctions against the Tehran government, and Iran was aggravating sectarian violence in Iraq.

This is great news. Coupled with the “surge” it proves that the administration is getting serious about this war, finally. The possibility of dead Iranian provacateurs makes me pleased. 

However, in this morning’s Washington Times, Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough in their Inside the Ring column report that a major obstacle to our troops effectively destroying the enemy and protecting themselves is military lawyers;

Defense officials tell us one of the rules of engagement for U.S. combat troops in Iraq is vague and written by lawyers with little or no battle experience. The result is that troops are at risk of getting killed in action because of military lawyers’ penchant for ambiguity.
    One troubling rule that is among several printed on the card given to troops going into combat is “use minimum force necessary to decisively eliminate the threat.” It is viewed by many in the military as ambiguous and confusing.
    “Does it mean you are obligated to wrestle with a threat rather than shoot him or her?” one defense official asked. “That is how a lot of police officers lose their lives each year, as the criminal gains control of the police officer’s firearm. How about approaching and/or wrestling a threat who, it turns out, is a homicide bomber?”

ROE is more important than body armor. Put a couple of these overeducated twits on point with a rifle and see how long they agree with their own restrictions on the troops.

We’re told that one of the first things Army Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the next commander of forces in Iraq, needs to do is demand an overhaul of the rules of engagement by line officers, not lawyers, so that ambiguities will be eliminated and lives saved.

Let’s hope the good general releases our fighting men from the idiocy of folks who think too much.

Category: Terror War