U.S. and British troops in Iraq are getting gun shy, afraid to shoot suspected terrorists because they might face military courts, placing themselves and their comrades in greater danger, say officers, returning troops and military field doctors.

Some troops say they fear military-police investigations as much as they fear the enemy.

As a direct result, according to a report in the London Times, British troops are suffering levels of battle stress not experienced since World War II, according to army doctors. The report cited two unnamed senior Royal Army Medical Corps officers, one of whom is a psychologist who just returned from Basra, where they counseled many young soldiers.

Last week a court martial of seven British paratroopers accused of murdering an Iraqi ended amid signs of a dramatic drop in morale among infantry soldiers.

One source said: "There doesn't appear to be any overt consideration or understanding of the pressures our soldiers are under. The unpopularity of the Iraq war at home and a belief that firing their rifles in virtually any circumstances is likely to see them end up in court are sapping morale."

Meanwhile, complicating the problem for U.S. combat units are new rules that require them to withhold fire on irregular jihadi units, even those carrying arms in Iraq, unless fired upon, reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence newsletter published by WND.

Some U.S. soldiers and officers fear the forced hesitation could result in another tragedy like the U.S. Marine barracks disaster in Lebanon that killed 241 Marines. Others say it has already resulted in increased U.S. casualties.

The new orders were designed in Washington by politicians and lawyers determined to win the hearts and minds of the Sunni population prior to the Iraqi election, according to G2 Bulletin.

There are other new orders of concern to the men in the field. For one, Marines are no longer permitted to use their 9mm pistols for warning shots toward Iraqi vehicles that fail to give U.S. forces sufficient security space.

The new rules are having an effect on morale, according to G2B sources. Returning troops say they've had enough of Iraq, sounding like many returning Vietnam vets frustrated that the war's playbook was being designed by "armchair generals" in Washington.

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