We call it “the war in Iraq.” But to many of the Marines here, it’s not really a war – at least not on their side. “They are fighting a war,” a Marine from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment tells me – “they” meaning the insurgents lurking “outside the wire” of a Marine forward operating base in the Euphrates River town of Barwanah, in western Al Anbar province. “But us?” the Marine goes on. “We aren’t fighting a war. We’re just doing a police action.”
This is just wrong! No wonder we’re bogged down over there!
Are the Marines catching sniper rounds from a cluster of buildings in the city? In a conventional war, that would be reason enough to light up the buildings with suppressive fire. But under the Iraq ROEs, unless the Marines get “P.I.D.” or “positive identification” – eyes on a guy with a rifle, or a muzzle flash, something very localized and specific – they can’t fire back.
…in routine, day-to-day operations, every single shot fired by Marines here must be documented and reviewed by higher command. Let me repeat that: Every single shot fired by Marines is reported to and reviewed by higher command – regimental level or above – to make sure that it conformed to the ROEs.
Arrrrgh! Total insanity!
Send the military lawyers and Pentagon desk-jockeys over to al-Anbar with pain-ball guns and see what they make of it!