Rules Of Engagement

I read a lot of spin about how the mercenaries killed and mutilated in Fallujah were “guarding food convoys”. Today I read that they were guarding food convoys bound for US troops. That throws their slaughter into a whole new light. I understand that according to rules of war, occupying forces are within their “rights” to shoot or incarcerate without trial all captured military personnel dressed out of uniform and engaged in military activities. These irregulars are seen as spies, partisans, or guerillas.

Now I am caught in an ontological flux, wondering how one might objectively treat the status of ex-military mercenaries dressed as civilians within occupied territories carrying out military duties and directly assisting the regular occupying forces, even to the point of establishing and guarding supply lines against guerilla attacks. It’s a thorny issue and I am sure many Iraqis are not losing sleep trying to decide between classifying them as friend/foe/NGO.

The Bush Gang has, of course, exacerbated this problem. Unwilling to call up any extra reserves because of political fallout, their troop strength is way below what is required in Iraq for “pacification”, or even satisfactory protection of their own forces. So they are increasingly relying on tens of thousands of hired mercenaries to take up the slack. By spending a lot more cash up front on hiring the mercenaries (some at $1000-$2000 per day) they reducing by 50K-100K the number of extra army and support personnel they would otherwise need to deply within Iraq.

But it does now mean that, increasingly, we will hear of attacks again American “civilians” by Iraqi resistors.

Earlier here.