It's a war.
A good article on it here.
The insurgency's most powerful weapon is the civilized behavior of our troops. We won't eradicate villages and raze cities to the ground. We won't kill civilians indiscriminately. We won't do the kinds of things they do routinely.
More and more often, children are lobbing the grenades, Ford said. Insurgents offer boys of 10 or 12 years old $150 to toss a grenade at a U.S. patrol, the captain said.
"For the longest time, we've had a good relationship with the children," Ford said. "Now this. Who enjoys putting a bead on a kid?
"Nobody. That's why they paid them."