If the soldiers were allowed to be soldiers then the ‘war’ would be winnable. Like you say a soldier’s job is to defeat the enemy, not to be some sort of compasionate policeman.

To call what is happening in Iraq a war is totally wrong. It is a police action and as such can go nowhere.

Instead of prosecuting soldiers for offending the delicate sensibilities of the very compasionate and peace loving Iraqi terrorists, IE the entire native population of Iraq, give them the authority destroy the enemy. Only then will it be a war, and only then can there be an outcome.