Their
response is often to shoot first and ask questions later, even when
it means killing genuine civilians. Yesterday, US troops killed at
least one man and injured three others during a demonstration in
Baghdad by former Iraqi soldiers protesting at not being paid for
two months. US troops first fired into the air and then into the
crowd after the demonstrators began throwing stones and bricks.
In the worsening cycle of violence, American tactics like these
are feeding the resentment of many Iraqis who object to the
occupation of their country. US troops are facing a growing number
of hitandrun guerrilla attacks and more than 40 soldiers have been
killed since George Bush declared the war over seven weeks ago.
The threat American soldiers feel was illustrated today when a
coalition-run humanitarian aid office north of Baghdad was shelled,
killing one Iraqi worker and wounded 12. The attack represents a
tactical shift by the guerillas as they target fellow Iraqis deemed
to be too close to the allies.
One of the soldiers interviewed by the Evening Standard,
Specialist Anthony Castillo, of the 3/15th US Infantry, said: "When
there were civilians there, we did the mission that had to be done.
When they were there, they were at the wrong spot, so they were
considered enemy."
The soldiers are furious that their commanders have reneged on
promises to send them home as soon as the war
was won and are now forcing them into the role of peacekeepers.
The interviews will make troubling reading for US and British
politicians and senior military staff desperate to pacify the
country and impose order before a transfer to a civilian government
run by Iraqis.
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