there's one basic mistake some of you are making in asking why the troops from the 101 didn't "wait him out". soldiers are not police. police, even "swat teams" are trained to try to keep casualties to a minimum for both the "bad guys" and "good guys" a successful police/swat operation is when no shots are fired and the subject is captured/arrested alive. soldiers are trained to cause maximum casualties to the other side until the other side either surrenders or cannot fight any more. so if you shoot at them they will shoot back until you stop shooting, if you are still alive they will take you prisoner then. if not that's just too dammed bad isn't it. saddam's sons chose their fate when, with a bunch of amatuer thugs, they took on the professionals. as for the 14 year old, with a rifle in his hands he's just as dangerous as an adult. if he was shooting at armed men they were going to shoot back. i quite realise that my comments will outrage some here, that is also "just too dammed bad". some of us have not enjoyed the luxury of spending all our lives in the soft safe places where hard reality seldom intrudes.
"gunner"