Hearts and minds.
"'The Iraqis are sick people and we are the chemotherapy,' said Corporal Ryan Dupre.' I am starting to hate this country. Wait till I get hold of a friggin' Iraqi. No, I won't get hold of one. I'll just kill him.'
...
"Two tanks and three AAVs were placed at the north end of the third bridge, their guns pointing down towards Nasiriya, and given orders to shoot at any vehicle that drove towards American positions. Though civilians on foot passed by safely, the policy was to shoot anything that moved on wheels. Inevitably, terrified civilians drove at speed to escape: marines took that speed to be a threat and hit out. During the night, our teeth on edge, we listened a dozen times as the AVVs' machineguns opened fire, cutting through cars and trucks like paper.
"Next morning I saw the result of this order - the dead civilians, the little girl in the orange and gold dress."
- Mark Franchetti, reporting for the Times. Article available here, mirrored here without requiring subscription.
Additional (revised):
Said article now appears to have been moved to the paid-subscription-only section of the Times site - you can see the start of it at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,2086,00.html - but it's still available at the indymedia site. The person who originally sent me the Times link has confirmed that the copy at indymedia is the same as the Sunday Times article.
...
"Two tanks and three AAVs were placed at the north end of the third bridge, their guns pointing down towards Nasiriya, and given orders to shoot at any vehicle that drove towards American positions. Though civilians on foot passed by safely, the policy was to shoot anything that moved on wheels. Inevitably, terrified civilians drove at speed to escape: marines took that speed to be a threat and hit out. During the night, our teeth on edge, we listened a dozen times as the AVVs' machineguns opened fire, cutting through cars and trucks like paper.
"Next morning I saw the result of this order - the dead civilians, the little girl in the orange and gold dress."
- Mark Franchetti, reporting for the Times. Article available here, mirrored here without requiring subscription.
Additional (revised):
Said article now appears to have been moved to the paid-subscription-only section of the Times site - you can see the start of it at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,2086,00.html - but it's still available at the indymedia site. The person who originally sent me the Times link has confirmed that the copy at indymedia is the same as the Sunday Times article.
