Marines were trying to figure out what caused a communications breakdown here Thursday that resulted in one Marine unit firing on another, wounding 31 Marines, two of them critically.
Many of the Marines are becoming frustrated by their inability to fight an enemy who mingles with the surrounding civilian population. The incident was a very hard experience for the young Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. They came under attack during the night from Iraqi forces and called in artillery fire from a nearby Marine unit.
The Marines have sophisticated equipment β thermal imaging, night vision gear and computers β to keep track of where each unit is located, but the technology failed them. In the midst of all the chaos, most of the shots roared overhead to fall on the Iraqis.
But some rounds fell short, exploding on the Marine positions. In addition to the injuries, two Marine 7-ton trucks were burnt and several Humvees were damaged. As one officer noted, they were very lucky that no one was killed. My NBC News crew and I had been staying with many of these Marines just a day and a half ago, and had gotten to know some of them, but we had moved away to another location nearby.
The friendly fire incident added to the frustrations these Marines are feeling here. Some of them believe they are fighting with kid gloves against a foe who hides in the civilian population. The Marine commander believes some of the Iraqi attacks are being coordinated by cell phone, so he has called in air and artillery strikes to take out the telephone system in Nasiriyah as well as the electrical and water system.
