"The easy way would be to say we don't talk about the rules of engagement, but the truth of the matter is the rules of engagement have not changed," US military spokesman Guy Shields told reporters.

Shields was shedding light on comments made by the top US ground commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, published in The New York Times Thursday. Sanchez told the paper that troops would be less aggressive in their searches.

The military has come under heavy criticism for no-holds-barred raids where civilians get struck down in the crossfire.

But Shields said Friday the number of US raids was not expected to drop even as they implemented new tactics.

In particular, troops would use a "cordon and knock" approach when possible, where troops seal off an area and knock on the suspect's door rather than just breaking into the home.

"It is not an issue of scaling back the raids, it's going to be an issue of the precision with which we execute the raids," Shields said.

Still, Shields would not rule out an overwhelming show of force.

"Obviously, the less shooting the better and that goes through the entire war but when the mission has to be accomplished, it has to be accomplished."

Shields also said plans for US troops to scale back their presence in Baghdad would not be happening in the immediate future.

"We won't stay one day longer than we have to, but we're not going to leave one day before we can," Shields said.

WAR.WIRE