U.S. Army snipers seen as ''political weapons'' in Iraq

[Judi Lynn]

U.S. Army snipers seen as ''political weapons'' in Iraq
By Denis D. Gray, Associated Press, 4/19/2004 04:22



NAJAF, Iraq (AP) A U.S. Army patrol stops suspicious vehicles on the edges of this insurgent-controlled city.

Some 500 yards away, lying prone and hidden in the sand, two expert marksmen stalk Iraqis emerging from cars through the cross-hairs of their rifles.

If they detect a sudden, hostile move, the snipers should be able to kill the assailant with a single bullet before the patrol itself can react.

''We can't get enough of them,'' says Capt. Damien Mason, from Maui, Hawaii, a company commander who ordered the two shooters into position. ''Snipers are vital in this kind of warfare.''
(snip/...)

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/110/world/U_S_Army_snipers_seen_as_polit:.shtml

[trumad]

1. I'd hate to be sleeping next to these guys in 5 years....

[saigon68]

14. I recall several Charles Whitman , Lee Harvey O, John Muhammed

Veteran's all.

Skilled in their trade

[davhill]

2. We will one day be bringing these "Political Weapons"

back home. God help us.

[bluestateguy]

3. Oye vey.

This will cause more problems that it solves.

[teryang]

4. Another "precision" weapon claim

An American generally cannot tell what a foreignor at the next table in a restaurant is doing, let alone what someone is up to 500 yards away. This body language criterion is not that reliable. Therefore you do get some innocent women, children and old men killed.

[gottaB]

5. and interpreting facial expressions--

There are too many snipers' bullets embedded in innocent flesh for a sane person to accept such claims at face value.

And when they go unchallenged, how quickly boasts about "accuracy" turn to an inflated sense of righteousness.

[Bridget Burke]

6. John Allen Muhammed was an "expert marksman"

"It was revealed that John Muhammad had been trained in the use of assault rifles while in the US army and had won a marksmanship award for his shooting skills. He was described yesterday by a fellow war veteran as 'clean-cut' and 'very competitive. He was just an altogether 100% soldier.'"

www.oup.com/elt/global/products/oald/newsreader/sniper_arrested/

[DS1]

8. So says the Army

:evilgrin:

[Vladimir]

7. Nice article...

I think snipers are probably one of the cleanest weapons avilable in modern warfare. They will make mistakes, yes, but they cause infinitely less collateral damage than a bombing raid in a populated area.

V

[gottaB]

11. A sledgehammer is more precise than a wrecking ball

For hanging a picture, neither will do.

[Vladimir]

12. Oh aye

What I'd want most is an immediate withdrawal, but if they are going to fight there, I'd rather they did it with snipers than cluster bombs...

V

[alcuno]

9. I could SWEAR I saw almost the exact story 8 months ago.

It looks to me like a recycling of the US propaganda.

[0007]

10. I think it was about six months ago!

Due again in October when bin Laden is captured.

[PATRICK]

13. Disconnect

From the actual uses of snipers as heard from anecdotes from the field(shooting gallery professionalism at best, a trifle bloodthirsty amorality at worst) and the civilian Iraqis(indiscriminate targetings, innocents as likely to be shot just for braving the open) I would say having complete faith in the bravura pride and purity of official reports about clean kills is about as feckless as believing the Iraqi people are not going to en masse believe in the worst war crime aspect of sniper usage. Of course for the military, terror and intimidation is a main ploy when outnumbered inside another country, but you can't have it both ways.

Unless you are bragging to the floundering American public, but we are not Iraqis. We are not in Iraq. We never really wanted to conquer Iraq. We have never been adequately let in as to what exactly is going on. We are not trusted.

We also are not being shot at in our neighborhoods(most of us anyway).