[rpoz-29]

I'm not starting politics, but after talking with a guy who has had 2 tours in the middle east, I wanted to share this. He told me that he requested for a silenced .22 to kill dogs. It seems the locals turn out their dogs when the Americans go on patrol, and they follow them. They bark, howl, etc, letting everyone know where the troops are. He wanted the guns to kill the dogs, but the request was denied. They later "recruited" a sympathetic local canine that would run the others off. He also wanted to position snipers throughout his area, but they are confined to gun towers etc. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/banghead.gif) But the clincher is from the son of one of my best friends. I've known this boy since he was 5 and playing "T-ball" with my son. While in a guard tower, he said they willwatch the enemy set up a mortar, and have to wait UNTIL THEY'RE FIRED ON, before they're given permission to shoot back. This sounds nuts to me, but the guys I work with who went to Viet Nam, say they saw the same thing.

[KeithO]

That's why I am proud to be American. Regardless of what the popular media is reporting, US troops bend over backwards (to the point of stupidity) to avoid conflict.

I was in Belgrade in April and was talking to some locals. They said that the US would notify Belgrade citizens which building was going to be bombed on which day at what time back when we were trying to get Milosevic out. This was to avoid civilian casualties and at the risk of putting our pilots in danger. This was not reported in the US media. Instead, we are pelted with pictures of naked Iraqi prisoners who are being "abused". Those pictures look suspiciously like fraternity initiations to me. I don't know what happened in that prison and I don't think many people on this planet really do either, but I know 2 things - those guys weren't Boy Scouts and we are only being told bad things...