ABSTRACT
In a town not far from Baghdad, a heavily armed convoy of U.S. armored army Humvees passes quickly through the streets. They are on their way to deliver some much needed school supplies to a group of Iraqi children whose school has been destroyed by the žghting. As the convoy rounds a corner, a roadside bomb blast comes out of seemingly nowhere. The improvised explosive device (IED), strategically planted to hit its mark, ¢ips the third Humvee in the convoy into the air. The others react instinctively and surround and protect the destroyed Humvee. Commands and instructions are shouted into radios. Some soldiers leap out of their vehicles to pull their comrades from the wreckage and check the wounded for injuries. The rest of the soldiers set up their weapons, scan the horizon, and prepare to shoot down any visible threat. After a moment, no threat has emerged, so the soldiers set out on foot to search for those who set off the IED and might still be in the area. As they search the surrounding area, the soldiers round up and detain any adult Iraqi male they can žnd within a half-mile radius of the blast. When the military holding truck arrives, the Iraqis are forced into the vehicle and the truck rushes off for the nearest U.S. internment facility. At a later date, investigations reveal that many of the detained persons are merely honest Iraqis who just happened by chance to be in the area when the attack occurred. They are released back into society; but from that point on, they hold resentful feelings against the United States and its military.
