Violence against Americans in Iraq maybe inevitable.
By: Hank Kalet
American soldiers are in an untenable situation.
They are being asked to play the role of policemen in Iraq, without the support of the Iraqi people who see them as an occupying force.
Hence, the tragic events in Fallujah on Monday, when between 13 and 15 Iraqis were killed when American soldiers fired on protesting mob.
The details remain fuzzy and it appears that the fault in this case lies not with any individual soldier or protester, but with a situation in which violence almost seems inevitable.
As Ellis Henican puts it in his column in today’s Newsday, "Occupation is never as easy as it sounds."
Mr. Henican reminds us of the violence that has greeted occupying forces in other countries and then recounts the conflicting reports of Monday’s tragedy. One or two Iraqi gunmen, or stone-throwing protesters or perhaps more shooters no one seems to be sure were seen as a threat, causing the American soldiers to fire in what they believed was self-defense.
And now we’re faced with the very real consequences lost credibility and the growing anti-American sentiment in a country we claim to have liberated.

