Wikileaks has released an apparently authentic copy of the Rules of Engagement (ROE) for Multi-National Division – Baghdad. They claim that these ROE were in use as recently as 2005. The document is classified SECRET.

For those unfamiliar with ROE, Wikipedia offers the following definition: “In military or police operations, the rules of engagement (ROE) determine when, where, and how force shall be used. Such rules are both general and specific, and there have been large variations between cultures throughout history. The rules may be made public, as in a martial law or curfew situation, but are typically only fully known to the force that intends to use them.”

On VetVoice, “dm” makes a very interesting observation (emphasis added).

The big story picked up by the media is that US forces were authorized to cross international borders in hot pursuit of hostile forces (see 3.D.(1)(A)). However, what I find most interesting is that the list of declared hostile forces (see 3.B.(1)(A)) does not include any mention of al-Qaeda or any other foreign terrorist organization (except the MEK, with whom we have a truce). This is surprising, since (as Brandon often points out) every attack in Iraq these days is attributed to al-Qaeda in Iraq.

(Note: Iran’s Quds Force is also named.)

If the leaked ROE is authentic, that means offensive operations against Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) were not specifically authorized as recently as 2005. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi changed the name of his Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad network to AQI in October 2004. Zarqawi was killed by a US air strike on June 7, 2006 near Baquba.

The ROE does list Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army among “paramilitary forces that may be considered hostile” but notes their status as a declared hostile force is suspended and Sadr’s supporters “will not be engaged except in self-defense.”

More analysis from the International Herald-Tribune.