The Lieutenant and the Motorcycle

A new platoon leader was on patrol in a war zone. Three local men approached on a motorcycle. The soldiers could see no weapons and the men made no hostile move. The lieutenant ordered his men to open fire. Two of the men were killed; the third was wounded and ran. The rules of engagement in force allowed deadly force only against a demonstrated threat. The lieutenant said he was protecting his soldiers. On appeal he argued that withheld intelligence linking the dead men to insurgents would have helped his defence.