Rule number 1 - Never believe your own propaganda.

Research what is said about Americans in convoys hit by a roadside bomb, or Americans when a sniper takes a shot at 'em, or when they call in air power.

Absolutely indiscriminate slaughter. No fire discipline at all. Kill anyone, kill everyone. Americans kill first, second and third, and never ask questions. I promise you, you can take my word for that.

There have been stories all over the place about this, and what you call "collateral damage" is carnage to the people there. The British warned us about that in Afghanistan. And despite what a couple of people on this board think, people who have innocent family members killed or maimed think EXACTLY what you or I would think if it happened to our families. Hate.

Donald Rumsfeld, talking about Iraqis killing Iraqis today said that people resent that, and that the Iraqis were beginning to resent the Iraqis killing Iraqis.

The US has and is killing, maiming and detaining more of them than the Iraqis are in their effort to get rid of the US.

Ignoring the fact that the US has not respected Iraqis and does not get respect back only leads to more planning mistakes. False assumptions got us there in the first place, that and lies.

Regarding false assumptions, read rule number one again - never believe your own propaganda. We are not as good as we say we are, individually and collectively, and they are not as bad as we say they are, individually and collectively.

Carl Jung - "The center of all iniquity is invariably found to lie a few miles behind the enemy lines. Because the individual has this same primitive psychology, every attempt to bring these age-old projections to consiciousness is felt as irritating. Naturally one would like to have better relations with one's fellows, but only on the condition that they live up to our expectations - - - "