More troops means more targets for snipers in Iraq

More troops means more targets for snipers in Iraq

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-10-24-sniper-targets_x.htm
Posted 10/24/2006

By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY

BAGHDAD — Sniper attacks on U.S. troops have risen dramatically as more Americans have been pulled into the capital to patrol on foot and in lightly armored vehicles amid raging religious violence.

Sniper attacks, generally defined as one or two well-aimed shots from a distance, have totaled 36 so far this month in Baghdad, according to U.S. military statistics. That's up from 23 such attacks in September and 11 in January.

The figures were confirmed by Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the No. 2 commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. "The total numbers are elevated, and the effectiveness has been greater," he said.

At least eight of the 36 sniper attacks in Baghdad in October have been fatal, according to accounts by hometown newspapers reporting on the deaths of individual soldiers and Marines. Snipers have also killed four U.S. servicemembers in Anbar province this month.

Why don't conservatives, who worship the past, ever seem to know much about history?

The choices are simple and none are good. One would be to simply hole up in fortified positions and thus limit casualties. This would mean there's no chance to influence anything and the vulnerability of supply lines increases. Another would be to truly go into an urban pacification mode (yes, a riff on old Vietnamspeak) and root out dangerous elements. This simply won't work.

The only reason U.S. forces haven't bled more than they have is that the Sunnis and Shiites are more focused on each other. It's pretty damned obvious that we don't have much influence on the true dynamic there, which is the struggle between rival factions.

The more we poke our noses out of our hidey-holes, the more casualties we'll sustain.

Unit cohesion must be a big issue by now. Although the focus is on deaths, the serious injuries take combat troops out of the mix and puts an undo burden on the survivors. As you and other vets of Vietnam know, the yearly rotation of conscripts really messed with unit cohesion. Now, even though we've gone to a regressive class-warfare volunteer service, the same problem will recur.

What's really going on there? We'll get a glimpse of it mid-November, but even that will be swept aside by the stories of the election. (This election will suck much of the wind out of media bandwidth regardless of how it sorts out.)

It's like watching someone on a ledge steeling himself to jump when you KNOW he will. Disaster is in the offing, but it's just a matter of how, when and how ugly.

in not the work of a sniper. That is the work of a guy with a rifle.

A sniper puts a round through the victims head. This is a 100% kill shot.

Juba is getting lots of play these days...

Not to pick nits.

Some of the videos show front on head shots above the chin and below the helmet from at least 300 + meters.

This would indicate a sniper to me. Not all that have been shot were shot by snipers however. Your point is valid in that hundreds of snipers are not "plinking away" Only a few