Quite a few of the blogs I've been reading tonight have weighed in on the Sgrena story. American Soldier and Dog Hostage have some interesting perspectives, although the big guns have also weighed in.

The fact remains that the car approached the checkpoint and did not stop. In the world of suicide bombers and other nefarious dudes, was their any other choice? They were requested to stop, and even if the driver for whatever reason did not understand, it would have been pretty damned obvious. Maybe the driver was related to Henri Paul, somehow.

The bodyguard did what he was paid to do, and paid the ultimate sacrifice. His children now grow up without a Dad, and if anyone needs to be bearing the brunt of this, it's the driver. American Soldier points to the fact that the car seems to show signs of only hits to the engine, as ROE states only to incapacitate the vehicle. Situations are too fluid for us to judge what truly occurred, but given the climate, I don't think the soldiers did anything that wrong. It's a WAR, people...things aren't pretty and wrapped up in a bow. The danger of having such an open source to daily occurences open up to armchair judges, and does not help anyone who has to serve.

Too bad Sgrena has to use this as a public platform for her 15 minutes of fame.