First, watch the video: Security contractors, or maybe US troops, in Iraq have a problem. Kids are throwing rocks at their cars. We do not know what company the security contractors work for, or whether they are actually the troops rather than the private sector.

Now, as I mom, I'm on the front lines of a lot bad behavior on the part of kids. Whipping out a machine gun is not one of my options; in this case, the security contractors have been told not to shoot children, and this restriction seems to really bug them. If I were to talk like these guys do on this video, I would be in very deep trouble. We parents are required to have a wide variety of solutions to draw upon.

An observation: The competing Primate Threat Displays really were not very productive. The boys are learning to act badly from the soldiers.

Can we help these beleaguered contractors/troops learn a better way to interact with errant children? A couple of suggestions, right off the bat. I gather the old-fashioned tactic of throwing candy is out now, so here are some other suggestions:

1. take their pictures
2. ask them nicely not to throw rocks, explaining that it damages your car
3. smile & wave
4. ignore them

Other suggestions? Many parents out there reading this have children who have behaved at least as badly as the kids in this video. What could these guys have done differently?

Sone say that these guys are just complaining, but the crux of the issue seems to me not whether they're complaining or not, or whether they're contractors or regualr troops, but whether they are serious or joking. My personal reading of the video is that they would be happy to shoot the kids given authorzation.

Those are my tax dollars at work, thank you very much. I don't care who these guys work for. Bring 'em home. They don't belong there.