'It's Hard to Know Who Is Who' in War

WITH U.S. FORCES IN IRAQ — First Sgt. Reinaldo Ortiz and the rest of his infantry company were in a firefight a few days ago, attacking a bunker in an Iraqi village. The pinned-down Iraqis, seeing they stood no chance, opted to surrender, and Ortiz watched in dismay at who emerged.

"There were six women," said Ortiz, 39, of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division. "There were little children. We had one woman who was nursing a baby. There was a soldier coming out. He was in his underwear. He'd been trying to change his clothes.

"It's hard to know who is who."

It was yet another example of the bewildering predicament American troops find themselves in as Iraqi forces disguise themselves as civilians, women are used as human shields and any vehicle driving down the road could be a suicide bomb.

On Tuesday, the day after at least seven women and children were killed when a vehicle they were riding in failed to stop at a military checkpoint, Lt. Col. Patrick Fetterman, a battalion leader with the 101st Airborne Division, lectured his company commanders on the rules of engagements.

If a soldier is threatened by a weapon or a vehicle, he is to "eliminate the threat," Fetterman said.

"We do our very best to preserve the sanctity of these people's lives," he said afterward, referring to civilians. "But if they don't act with common sense, we have to defend ourselves. When you're told to stop in a war zone by heavily armed men and you don't stop, those men will fire."

The colonel added that troops "don't have the option of just letting a vehicle approach."

The task of distinguishing between civilians and Iraqi gunmen has been complicated by paramilitary forces who fire on U.S. troops at night and walk around unarmed and in civilian dress during the day. Intelligence officers with the 101st say some paramilitary fighters have been caught dressed as women.

U.S. troops are taught to open fire at anyone brandishing a weapon. If the person appears to be surrendering, troops are to keep their distance and order the individual to drop the weapon and get on the ground.

To cut through language barriers, troops have memorized commands in Arabic: "Stop!" "Show your hands!" "Get out of the vehicle!" To guard against memory lapses at critical moments, most troops have written the translations on their uniform sleeves.