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US admits checkpoints troops 'more aggressive'

THE GUARDIAN, Undated
US troops manning checkpoints have become more "aggressive" to deal with potential suicide bombers, central command admitted yesterday.
"These are young kids out there that are fighting for the UK, Australia and the US and if they feel that there is a threat out there they will fire," said Jim Wilkinson, the spokesman for General Tommy Franks, the US commander of the war.
He was speaking after a group of Iraqi civilians were shot dead on Monday night at Najaf when their car failed to stop at a checkpoint. According
to an eyewitness account from the Washington Post there were 10 dead. US military authorities initially said there were seven, but later said the number was unclear. "The incident was a tragedy. It was a shame it had to happen," Mr Wilkinson said.
Less than two weeks into the war American troops on the ground are becoming increasingly wary of Iraqi civilians. Soldiers guarding checkpoints were ordered to "stand off" further from approaching vehicles after a suicide car bomb killed four soldiers on Saturday. But the new approach is taking its toll of civilians.
Mr Wilkinson, who has been seconded from the White House to work at central command in Qatar, refused to detail the current US rules of engagement but he said troops had the right to protect themselves.
"Our checkpoints are being a little more aggressive out there," he said. "We will try to interdict potential suicide bombers earlier. Our kids can take the action they need to protect themselves."
Brigadier General Vince Brooks, one of the senior American officers at central command, said his troops had an "inherent right to self-defence".
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"There is an increased vigilance because of the tactics we have seen used," he said. "We know it is not a benign environment, it is a very threatening environment. While we regret the loss of civilian lives, they remain unavoidable."
US military officials said the shootings on Monday would be investigated, but indicated that the soldiers would probably not be blamed. "The blood of this incident is on the hands of this regime, which is now showing a very firm tendency to use civilians as combatants," said Captain Frank Thorp, a central command spokesman.
British commanders have emphasised a different approach. Soldiers patrolling four towns in the south have switched to wearing berets instead of armoured helmets.
Commanders have been given a budget to employ Arabic interpreters to improve relations with the Iraqis.
"We have got to be very careful we don't win the battles and lose the war and we have to be sensitive," a senior British military source said. "We don't want to build up any resentment in the country."