Chief Moose's reading of the "like a duck in a noose" reference, through a quick googling of "duck, noose" lead me to a Cherokee story of the trickster, a boastful rabbit, who attempts to persuade an otter that he is capable of doing any task as well as anyone else. The rabbit attempts to hunt ducks as well as an otter, but after placing a noose over a ducks neck, gets carried aloft by the startled duck. The rabbit falls into a tall stump (like the one taken from Tacoma?), gets trapped there for a while, and then has to eat its own fur to survive while stuck in the stump. Eventually the rabbit tricks some children (and in some tellings their father) to cut a hole in the side of the stump, convincing the humans that it is a beautiful creature to look upon. Once the hole is created, the rabbit darts to freedom. The analogy here seems obvious to the current situation. The rabbit, (sniper), slipped a noose over a duck and got picked up, (hunted civilians then placed on news all over world), then fell into a deep stump(feels trapped by current dragnet), had to eat its own fur(not sure about this element, not a perfect analogy), then finally escaped through trickery(sniper's dreams of escaping).If the moccasin fits...
Dude, you were doing great until this screw up. Obviously, the sniper is the Duck and Moose is the Rabbit. Good grief.