U.S. Snipers Seen As 'Weapons' in Iraq

AP via Washington Times ^ | April 19, 2004 | Denis D. Gray

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

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.

[af_vet_rr]

Now the world knows how many snipers are in the unit, where they set up at road blocks and their names. None of this information should be disclosed.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was done deliberately, to maybe force the guerillas to change their tactics, and as a result expose themselves. I would think something like what the soldiers mentioned in this article would have to be approved up pretty far up the chain.

The Pentagon has not been shy about using the press as a weapon in this war :-)

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[TMSuchman]

It may look like a Remington 700, but that is where a similarities end. That rifle is custom made for the person who is using it.


One shot, one kill BUMP!

[Lowell]

I get a woody every time I see this one! The next spare $10,000 I get!
Sorry to say there is nowhere in shoot this beautiful baby except NV. I'm in Indiana and that is a long way to go.

Hay, I'm going to Vegas next week! IS THERE A PLACE I CAN GO AND RENT/SHOOT ONE OF THESE? ANSWER PLEASE!

[Travis McGee]

(+)

[Shooter 2.5]

Look up gun ranges in the phone book or use the Yahoo yellow pages. You could also ask the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association if they know of a range:
http://www.fcsa.org/

[donozark]

The M-14. Still killing after all these years...

[Tallguy]

Now the world knows how many snipers are in the unit, where they set up at road blocks and their names. None of this information should be disclosed.

No they don't. According to StrategyPage.com, the Army & Marines are recruiting their own snipers by identifying the most talented marksmen within combat infantry units. This article only speaks about the 'official' snipers that went through the school.

[nightdriver]

"Maximum Effective Range: 800 meters (3250 feet)

Please forgive the nit-pick but shouldn't that be either 993 meters = 3250 ft or 800 meters = 2618 ft?

[Edit35]

r claim that this was and is Vietnam is way out of line. From a sniper standpoint, you're off the paper. To begin with, we were attacked first on our home soil. Second, we are in a desert, we have mechanized armory, and we are not carpet-bombing the civilians or the outlying terrain blindly. (jungle) Thirdly, we have removed the leadership of the country and are ready to replace it with a more acceptable form of government.This is not, nor will it ever be another Vietnam.

I agree with all your points.

The only thing remotely similar is that we are increasingly fighting these Iraqi terrorists with one hand tied behind our backs, and it is costing us lives.

I just hope we take off the shackles and blow these Islamist fanatics to kingdom come.

And I just pray we can do that successfully without inflaming all the other middle-of-the-road Iraqi's and creating a bigger insurgency.

That is the dilemma, I'm afraid.

[Ranxerox]

Thanks for the info. I thought that with all the fine choices in accurate rifles available, that snipers might choose something they preferred over the standard military issue. I have never heard anyone speak poorly of the Model 700, so it's nice to see the Brass picked a weapon that the end users like.

[blackie]

Snipers ~ reach out and zap someone ~ Bump!

We are winning ~ the bad guys are losing ~ trolls, terrorists, democrats and the mainstream media are sad ~ very sad!

~~ Bush/Cheney 2004 ~~

[em2vn]

I am only speaking of what was in the article. If you found another source that indicates more snipers are being trained, that should not be stated either.It simply offers more information to the enemy.

[Oatka]

"Now the world knows how many snipers are in the unit, where they set up at road blocks and their names. None of this information should be disclosed."

Agreed. On top of that, "The 23-year-old soldier and others rate their Iraqi counterparts low on training and ingenuity, saying opposing snipers invariably use upper stories of houses or rooftops and aren't armed with particularly accurate weapons."
GREAT, now the gooks know to stay out of the upper stories and rooftops.

This reminds me how the press always put our guy's lives at risk. Pre-Pearl Harbor pilots in the Phillippines saw a TIME magazine article that had a schematic showing all the blind firing zones on the new B-17. Jap pilots also read TIME.

A newspaper article bragged how the stupid Japs set their depth charges to explode at too shallow a depth, allowing our subs to escape. The Japs began using a deeper setting and we started losing more subs. Hence the new name "The Silent Service". Thank You Fourth Estate.

[bogdanPolska12]

Good afternoon Rag and others.

Snipers are so cool. Before enemy knows, zooom they are dead. I call it silent killers.

Thank you for ping

God Bless America
Bogdan

[Tallguy]

I am only speaking of what was in the article. If you found another source that indicates more snipers are being trained, that should not be stated either.It simply offers more information to the enemy.

There's 2 ways to think about snipers: the physical damage that they inflict, and the psycological. The latter is far more important. Articles that speak about snipers & sniping in general terms amplify the threat to the enemy. So, as long as they change the names to protect the shooter, I have few problems with this reporting.

[Tallguy]

You make a couple of good points by historical example. Less detail is probably a good thing in these types of reports. OTOH, good snipers -- like major league pitchers -- are not going to use the same techniques & tactics without change. Even the dumbest enemy catches on after a few of their troops start to drop.

The worst reporting on Snipers happened in Vietnam when Marine Capt. Land (the chief sniper) & Sgt. Carlos Hathcock (the best the Marines had) were both photographed & identified by name in a newspaper report. The enemy subsequently put a bounty on both their heads.

The Marines were compelled to transfer Capt. Land out of Vietnam, while Sgt. Hathcock was shifted to another unit where he subsequently was disabled rescuing Marines from a burning APC.

This article doesn't rised to that level. You can bet the names are fake.

[em2vn]

Disagree.I will always take a dead enemy over an emotionally perturbed one. These guys think they gain by dying. I don't think their believing a sniper is looking at them really does much to put them off their game. A round through the head is what is needed, not head games.

[em2vn]

What is amazing about Hathcock is that he continued to perform even after he developed MS.