Checkpoints

US Soldiers who fired upon the automobile of rescued Italian Journalist Guiliana Sgrena have been cleared of misconduct in the shooting that resulted in the death of Italian special agent Nicola Calipari, who saved Sgrena's life with his body in the shooting.

Calipari became a national hero, and Sgrena disputed American claims that she was targeted accidentally. Italy's PM Burlesconi felt the public outrage and declared Italian soldiers would be pulled form the battlefield of Iraq, part of the cascade of countries falling from our hodge-podge coalition. The probe, a joint Italy-US investigation clears the US Soldiers:

However, the probe into the March 4 shooting is expected to raise questions about the rules of engagement given to U.S. soldiers manning checkpoints in Iraq, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the report had not been finished. These instructions include descriptions of how much force U.S. soldiers are allowed to use against potential threats.

which truly must be a correct response. The problem with the checkpoints is that they are confusing and misleading, and that they've been set up for maximum miscommunication across cultural lines, and that the US Soldiers manning the checkpoints are, obviously, trained to be trigger-happy. As the best portrayal of the checkpoints that I've read, from Annia Ciezadlo of the Christian Science Monitor, describes:

You're driving along and you see a couple of soldiers standing by the side of the road - but that's a pretty ubiquitous sight in Baghdad, so you don't think anything of it. Next thing you know, soldiers are screaming at you, pointing their rifles and swiveling tank guns in your direction, and you didn't even know it was a checkpoint.

If it's confusing for me - and I'm an American - what is it like for Iraqis who don't speak English?

In situations like this, I've often had Iraqi drivers who step on the gas. It's a natural reaction: Angry soldiers are screaming at you in a language you don't understand, and you think they're saying "get out of here," and you're terrified to boot, so you try to drive your way out.

It happens all the time there and it is a scary thing to be happening. Unless it's systematically patched up, these incidences won't end.