My son will be deploying to Afghanistan again in a couple months and this week he made the off-hand comment that the Rules of Engagement have changed since last time he was there. Then, someone with a two-way radio was presumed to be a hostile and could be shot. Now, that person has to be presumed to be non-hostile.
We're not talking about someone strolling on their way to the grocery with a two-way radio to keep in touch with their kids. What every soldier there understands is that men with two-way radios are spotters. They're setting the troops up for an ambush or a manually-triggered IED. Now they have to just let those guys go, let them deliver their murderous message, and hope they can handle whatever is coming.
Bastards sitting safely behind desks in air conditioned offices made that rule. My son, in a dusty HumVee on a chunk of barren Afghani road, has to live or die by it.
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