Reading this, my first thought is "The clowns who put this together

don't really care how may of our troops wind up dead, do they?"
Under the current rules of engagement, troops retain the right to use lethal force in self defense, said U.S. Col. Wayne Shanks, a spokesman for the international force.

The rules seek to put the troops in the “right frame of mind to exercise that right,” Shanks said. They require troops to ask a few fundamental questions:

• Even if someone has shot in my general direction, am I still in danger?

• Will I make more enemies than I’ll kill by destroying property, or harming innocent civilians?

• What are my other options to resolve this without escalating the violence?
They 'retain the right to use lethal force in self defense'. In the middle of a fucking battle. Isn't that just so fucking special you could puke?

Christmas said his troops might be frustrated, but understand the reasons behind the strict rules. As he spoke, Cobra attack helicopters fired Hellfire missiles nearby. Ground forces under intense fire had requested the air support 90 minutes earlier, but it took that long to positively identify the militants who were shooting at the allied forces.
"We understand the fucking DOD will hang us if we don't follow these stupid rules, and we may well wind up dead if we do follow them. Oh, we understand, all right."

The mindset of the people in charge seems to have gone from "We have a war to win" to "Winning will be nice, but it won't count if we upset anybody too badly."

Just effing wonderful, isn't it?