My other problem with MM's statement and overall sentiments is this notion that surprise attack (eg. a sniper round) is somehow cowardly. Because of the ROE in place at the time, as I understand it Mr. Kyle had to verify all his targets were combatants. As far as I'm concerned if you're carrying a weapon in a war zone, you're a combatant. If you're a combatant in a war zone, your life is at risk and you can be engaged at any time, in any way.
I watched a show about Carlos Hapcock a while back.
They told the story of a friendly village with valuable intel assets. The North Vietnamese seized the village and were happily raping, torturing, and killing their way through the population. Brass was willing to call in an airstrike on the village to prevent the intel from falling into enemy hands but gave Hapcock a chance to take out the leadership.
Hapcock took out 4 or 5 of the top Vietnamese officers and the black jammies ran for the hills. It gave American troops a chance to get in and secure the village and the intel which were minutes from being vaporized.