Because of Marc-Andre having long ago provided me with the links to the UN reports on gun-control and gun ownership in Central Africa (esp. Rwanda, which has its own set of lengthy and dreary reports), I'm aware of the classism inherent in Central African gun ownership. So, as I said, there is a certain pragmatism in General Cruz' approach; which, from a utilitarian approach justifies the "raw" rule of thumb - gun in hand = combatant.

I suspect, however, that this rule does not apply across the board; and that we really have three categories of gun toters:

1. The "good" politicians and their military family members who are not going to be shot because of their status as gun toters.

2. The "bad" politicians and their military family members who might be shot because of their gun toter status, but more likely would be "neutralized" by capture - we don't want the UN FIB to be killing African elites, do we ?

3. The common rabble, who aren't supposed to have guns anyway; and will be shot if they are gun toters.

Now, all of this makes practical sense in context. But, it is a far cry from the rules propounded by Messrs Ban, Emmerson, Alston and Melzer; and endorsed by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch - and all of the other critics of the US over the past decade.

Regards

Mike