SOMEBODY SCREWED UP...BIG TIME

And my guess is that someone's career just jumped the tracks.

Moving quickly to try to defuse anger that threatens to ignite riots in a Baghdad slum, U.S. military leaders admitted Thursday it was a mistake for troops to open fire on civilians who became hostile after a helicopter interrupted their religious gathering.
U.S. officials said the Wednesday shootings came after residents of the Shiite Muslim neighborhood threw stones and fired weapons, including a rocket-propelled grenade, at the helicopter because they believed it had knocked a religious banner off a communications tower. One person was killed and four injured.

The local U.S. commander expressed deep regret and vowed to scale back patrols and helicopter flights in Thawra, a poverty-stricken district of northeastern Baghdad, formerly known as Saddam City. Locals recently renamed it Sadr City in honor of a celebrated Shiite cleric.

The quick and unusual apology -- immediately dismissed by local clerics as inadequate -- comes as U.S. occupation leaders are grappling with rising Iraqi outrage over mounting civilian casualties at checkpoints and during raids.

The gesture also underscored the U.S. desire to maintain support among Shiite Muslims, 60 percent of Iraq's population and key to the nation's reconstruction.

"Our intent is not to alienate the Shia people," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. ground troops in Iraq, said at a briefing in Baghdad on Thursday.

Accounts of what happened differ. Witnesses alleged that soldiers in the helicopter deliberately tried to remove the banner, but Sanchez said it appeared to be an accident. In the ensuing fire, local clerics said, a 10-year-old boy was killed. Sanchez said Thursday that troops killed the individual who launched the RPG, but clerics, who have video footage of the incident, insist that no such weapon was used.

In his letter of apology to the clerics, Lt. Col. Christopher K. Hoffman, commander of the 2nd Squadron of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, said: "We deeply regret what has happened today. What occurred was a mistake and was not directed against the people of Sadr City. I am personally investigating this incident and will punish those that are responsible." The letter was dated Wednesday, and offered compensation and medical treatment to those injured.

A second message of apology was sent late Thursday, clerics said, offering to pull troops back "for the time being."

But the religious leaders rejected both overtures, demanding an immediate and permanent withdrawal of U.S. troops from Sadr City, an apology from a higher-ranking officer and compensation to victims in accordance with Islamic law.