MY GUESS IS THIS STORY GETS A LOT OF PLAY - ESPECIALLY AMONG THOSE WHO OPPOSED THE WHOLE THING IN THE FIRST PLACE.

On a scorching afternoon, while on duty at an Army airfield, Sgt. David J. Borell was approached by an Iraqi who pleaded for help for his three children, burned when they set fire to a bag containing explosive powder left over from war in Iraq.

Borell immediately called for assistance. But the two Army doctors who arrived about an hour later refused to help the children because their injuries were not life-threatening and had not been inflicted by U.S. troops.

Now the two girls and a boy are covered with scabs and the boy cannot use his right leg. And Borell is shattered.

"I have never seen in almost 14 years of Army experience anything that callous,' said Borell, who recounted the June 13 incident to The Associated Press...

Borell said he felt betrayed by the Army, which he joined after high school. Borell's wife gave him a silver bracelet that says: "Duty, Honor, Country.' He wears it to remind him why he's in Iraq.

"After today, I wonder if I will still be able to carry the title 'soldier' with any pride at all,' said Borell.

But let's put this in perspective.

We have literally hundreds of thousands of US Servicemen and Women in that country trying to creat a better life for the Iraqi people. I don't think we can be fairly accused of callousness.

Although the story doesn't say it, I can bet you the physicians were following orders.

That is what soldiers do.

It works like this. The last time you went to the emergency room in the USA, how many hours did you wait before getting attention? If your case is typical, it was an astonishingly long time, especially considering this is supposed to be - well - an emergency room.

But the law of supply and demand is not suspended for medical reasons.

For many folks the emergency room is the only place they can get care. Even routine care.

And that clogs the system.

Consider this then. There are 24 million Iraqis in that country. Compared to that number the US Forces make up .8 percent of the population. That is, less than one percent.

And most of those drive or ride in armored vehicles for a living. A tiny tiny percentage of the US Forces are medics, even fewer are doctors.

Now, with US Forces getting picked off on a daily basis, someone has to make the hard decision to preserve the medical capabilities for their primary purpose. To tend to injured soldiers.

And you do that by establishing rules of engagement for medical services, just as you establish them for the Infantry.

Based on the doctors comments, those rules seem to be to treat Iraqi's if (a) lives are at risk or (b) if US Forces caused the wounds.

Otherwise, they must use the Iraqi medical facilities, for better or worse.

And I can all but guarantee you the two doctors did not write the rules of engagement. Remember, they swore a Hippocratic oath.

Without these rules, we treat one, the other 24 million people will expect it too. And we just don't have the assets.

It isn't kind, it isn't pretty. But it is the way it has to be.

No, Sergeant...my wife isn't in harm's way because she is callous.

It's because she is a soldier.

And soldiers follow orders...whether they agree with them or not.

And professional soldiers don't bitch to the press about fellow soldiers following orders.

So shut the hell up already...and watch your lane.