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Source: http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/special_packages/iraq/7293440.htm
U.S. Officer Defends Felling of Iraq Homes
(Philadelphia Inquirer) The decision to destroy at least a dozen homes belonging to family members of guerrilla suspects in and around Tikrit was "within the rules of war" and was approved by the commander of the Fourth Infantry Division and probably by the overall commander for U.S. forces in Iraq, a spokesman for the division said Tuesday. Some military officers acknowledged that the tactic had caused debate over whether it would inflame opposition rather than tamp it down. The destruction of the homes is a sensitive issue because the tactic resembles a controversial Israeli practice of destroying the houses of families of suicide bombers in the West Bank and Gaza. The State Department has denounced the Israeli actions.