The Rules Of War

There are actual Rules of War.  Over hundreds of years, humans in conflict have come to a small set of commonly used rules.

Only people in uniform are fair game.  Civilians are just trying to get the hell out of the way.  Soldiers have informed acceptance of the risks and signify this by wearing uniforms and working in organized military units.

A white flag is a universal sign of either discussion or surrender on the battlefield.  If the folks waving the white flag are wearing helmets, webbing and carrying guns it means ‘Truce for a bit. We need to talk”  Folks waving a white flag without helmets, guns or armour are surrendering.  In the slang, you don’t surrender under steel.  Hats off, guns down and hands up means ‘I give up’.

Surrendering, properly, means you will probably get moved about by boot, fist and rifle butt for a bit.  This is normal, as the prisoner was trying to kill you up until a moment ago.  A bit of rough justice is to be expected.  This doesn’t mean your captors can hook a truck battery up to your nipples, or slice off your ear.  Torture is frowned upon, but expect a black eye and a boot in the ass.  As a prisoner of war, you get food, water, shelter and medical attention.  Don’t expect a suite at the Baghdad Hilton.

Red Cross and Red Crescent marks means “No guns or military stuff.  Just doctors, nurses and medics.  Don’t shoot.”

Unfortunately, in Korea and Viet Nam, the opposition tossed those rules into the toilet.  However, the US still plays by the Rules, as they are essentially nice people who respect fair play and expect fair play.  They go out of their way to respect the rules, even when their enemy doesn’t, which is noble and good and a great way to lose a war.

Now that the Iraqi Army is getting out of uniform and shooting from amongst civilians, using Red Cross and Red Crescent vehicles to move troops around and putting their artillery on top of schools and apartment buildings, the Rules are at risk.

I suspect that as the US troops get closer to Baghdad, Saddam will go for the endgame in about three days.  He’ll use chemical weapons, maybe nerve or mustard gas.  A few hundred US troops will die in a hideous, unimaginable way.

That point will also galvanize world opinion.  The US should fly one more leaflet run, advising all civilians to get away from anything military.  Give them 24 hours.

The next phase is unpleasant.  If it has a gun in Iraq, kill it.  If there is an artillery piece on top of an apartment, drop big bombs on it.  Lots of innocents will die, but the essential rule as a civilian, is to stay as far away from guns and army people, as possible. 

If the person is carrying a gun, even if they’re dressed like a June bride, shoot them. 

If there are machine guns in amongst a civilian group, start shooting.  Try not to hit the innocent, but if the soldiers are in civilian clothes and shooting at you, you are perfectly entitled to shoot back, even if they are driving around in a church school bus. 

Honourable soldiers do not mix with civilians and an honourable military allows their civilians to run to safety, away from battle.  Gunshots coming from a Red Cross truck?  Advise the Red Cross to get back behind the line, cover their ears and get their head down – shit is on the way.

Don’t accept the surrender of someone waving a white flag, unless they have dropped weapons, helmets off, body armour off, walking backwards, hands on the head.  Walk them backwards out of sight and don’t be standing up to ‘accept’ their surrender.  Odds are one of their buddies are using them as an aiming point and will just as happily kill you.  If they have to march backwards for two kilometers, that is not your problem.

The Iraqi Army is forcing the civilians to stay in an area with guns?  Too bad about that.  Perhaps the Iraqi people will see what we’re talking about and rise up.  We can’t help them if their army is going to offer them up as an involuntary human shield. 

The Iraqi Army is not playing by the rules of war.  Therefore, we can’t trust anyone in civilian clothes with a gun. 

Bombing schools, apartment buildings, power plants and bridges is now fair game, as the Iraqi Army has put guns on those things, trying to hide where they figure the US wouldn’t bomb them.  Oh, how wrong.

If it has a weapon, kill it.  If it hasn’t surrendered, kill it.  If it’s still driving around, or still working, destroy it.  If you don’t do that, the enemy will kill you with it.  A very black and white situation and very bad place to be, but the Rules of War are now over.  Ending the war quickly, with the least loss of life is the objective.