Rattle wrote:
] THE light was a strange yellowy grey and the wind was
] coming up, the beginnings of a sandstorm. The silence
] felt almost eerie after a night of shooting so intense
] it hurt the eardrums and shattered the nerves. My
] footsteps felt heavy on the hot, dusty asphalt as I
] walked slowly towards the bridge at Nasiriya. A
] horrific scene lay ahead.

Isn't the description of this article a bit off-center? From reading the entire article I get the feeling that these kinds of civilian casualties are exactly what the Iraqi forces were trying to make happen. Ambushes in civilian clothing and similar guerilla techniques demonstrate a distinct disregard for the safety of the people one would assume the Iraqi forces are attempting to protect. Particularly telling is the description of the woman with a child crossing a street repeatedly with someone popping out to fire RPGs in-between. Frankly, I think the group in question showed remarkable restraint in only targeting motorized vehicles trying to approach them. (and frankly, no matter how busy one's day is, the smart money is on going nowhere near a bunch of guys from out of town toting a bunch of weapons)

Perhaps as the civilians begin to learn that their local forces have no compunctions about using them as fodder we'll see a greater interest in lying low.