Human Shields

Sometimes, being the "good" guys carries responsibilities (or at least the perception of increased responsibility). I am hoping that the military strategists and soldiers on the ground remember the following:

Allowing the military effort to be slowed down by "human shields" ultimately results in much higher civilian casualties. Why? Because for every successful use of a human shield, there will be countless additional attempts to use the same strategy.

I would suspect that the military commanders are aware of this, and will instruct their soldiers on the ground to attempt to minimize civilian casualties, without allowing their presense to derail the assault. In many cases (though not all), the civilian population is sympathetic towards the Iraqi government. These "human shields" may very well be willing participants.

For air assaults, human shields are less of a concern. Pilots who drop bombs are already conditioned to block out the fact that humans may ultimately lose their lives during a mission. Close air support and infantry personnel have a harder time dealing with human shields, since they have to see their targets "face-to-face". In such cases, film should be shot of the Iraqi soldiers holding the human shields (to prove to the world that these civilians were not specifically targeted by the coalition forces). Once this evidence is gathered, the attack should proceed as normal, with no regard to the civilians. Easier said than done, I know. But if this strategy is followed, the Iraqis will soon understand that human shields offer no defence, and actually prove to the world (via the film) that the Iraqi military employs illegal and inhumane practices when fighting.