"We were talking about World War II the other day," Spangaro said. "All the enemies wore uniforms. Now, you don't know. You have all these Somalias. You can't tell who's shooting at you, and by the time you know, you're dead."
Just as outraged are Marines and Navy paramedics who have been part of gun battles in Iraqi towns in which civilians were used as shields. And they say it makes the task of deciding when to shoot more difficult.
"Seeing the civilian casualties, especially the children, is heartbreaking," said Navy corpsman Brian Strawh, 25, of Lake Isabella, Calif. "We do our best to treat them and patch them up. I have a 3-year-old daughter. I think of her every time I see the children being used so cruelly here. It's a horrible thing. But so has been the life of Iraqi people here for three decades. Hopefully we can leave them something better."
Marine Lance Cpl. Jonathan Hardy, 20, Huntsville, Ala., said that something his lieutenant had told him rang true: "He said when you see someone you think is a paramilitary hiding among civilians waiting to shoot at you, it's your decision on whether to fire. But you'll have to live with the fact that guy might shoot a buddy of yours if you don't shoot. It's Saddam who is putting the civilians out there, not us."
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Times staff writer Tony Perry with the Marines in Iraq contributed to this report.
