"I couldn't have asked to be in a better place. I just got lucky..."

[TruthIsAll]

It's a great opportunity: to be in the right place at the right time, killing savage towel-heads who dare fight the invading imperialists

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-asniper17apr17,0,2328589.story


FALLUJAH, Iraq · Taking a short breather Friday, the 21-year-old Marine corporal explained what it was like to practice his lethal skill in the battle for this city.

"It's a sniper's dream," he said in polite, matter-of-fact tones. "You can go anywhere and there are so many ways to fire at the enemy without him knowing where you are."

Sniping -- killing an enemy from long distance with a single shot -- has become a significant tactic for Marines in this "Sunni Triangle" city as three battalions skirmish daily with armed insurgents who can find cover among the buildings, walls and trees.


snip

"Sometimes a guy will go down, and I'll let him scream a bit to destroy the morale of his buddies," said the Marine corporal. "Then I'll use a second shot."

snip

"As a sniper your goal is to completely demoralize the enemy," said the corporal, who played football and ran track in high school and dreams of becoming a high school coach. "I couldn't have asked to be in a better place. I just got lucky: to be here at the right time and with the right training."

more..

[LizW]

1. These men will be coming home to live among us

in a little while. I wonder if they'll be able to turn off the blood lust that has been ingrained in them during this war. Will they ever be normal? Will they ever be able to interact with human beings in normal, non-violent ways?

[KC]

2. And these

people will be our neighbors when they come home.

Just look at this guy and his read his disturbing comments and then think of the sniper attacks we had recently.

KC

[rockymountaindem]

3. Just remember that people had the same worries in the aftermath of WWII

People were afraid that our millions of returning troops would be so damaged by their combat experiences that they might not be able to re-integrate into society. Thankfully, those fears never materialized.

[Kanary]

11. In the days after WWII there was still more "civilization"

here in the US. Things have changed..... it's now acceptable to diss others relentlessly, to take out your frustrations no the road, and use whatever means available to one-up each other.

Boundaries were much more clearly defined 60 years ago.

I think we're in trouble.

Kanary

[shanti]

4. this is what WWF and video games created

disgusting...

[TahitiNut]

5. He'd probably love the UTexas Tower.

:eyes:

[cosmicdot]

6. I was thinking the same thing ...

I would think sociologists could find interesting case studies in the personality types, i.e. common denominators, etc., in today's all-voluntary 'don't ask don't tell' military ... despite there being, obviously, 'all kinds' of folks who are in the military ...


the thrill of sniping :scared:
sounds 'Taxi Driver'-esque ... urban hunting

is it addictive?

It's a legitimate concern ...

I think the same may be true in 'grooming' the unnecessary SS riot squads found in virtually every community across the USA.

[bpilgrim]

7. FULL METAL JACKET

and so it goes...


peace

[opihimoimoi]

8. Snipers: some think of it as a JOB, a few LOVE IT< Blood LUST>

They actually ENJOY KILLING, and we encourage this?

[GregW]

9. Snipers have been coming home from war for 200+ years

Why the sensationalism now? :shrug:

[kentuck]

10. And they say there is no analogy to Viet Nam ????

I knew people exactly like that Marine....

[qanda]

12. Here's a clue what it's like to be at the other end of that sniper

(snip)

Screaming women come in, praying, slapping their chests and faces. Ummi, my mother, one cries. I hold her until Maki, a consultant and acting director of the clinic, brings me to the bed where a child of about ten is lying with a bullet wound to the head. A smaller child is being treated for a similar injury in the next bed. A US sniper hit them and their grandmother as they left their home to flee Falluja.

The lights go out, the fan stops and in the sudden quiet someone holds up the flame of a cigarette lighter for the doctor to carry on operating by. The electricity to the town has been cut off for days and when the generator runs out of petrol they just have to manage till it comes back on. Dave quickly donates his torch. The children are not going to live.

“Come,” says Maki and ushers me alone into a room where an old woman has just had an abdominal bullet wound stitched up. Another in her leg is being dressed, the bed under her foot soaked with blood, a white flag still clutched in her hand and the same story: I was leaving my home to go to Baghdad when I was hit by a US sniper. Some of the town is held by US marines, other parts by the local fighters. Their homes are in the US controlled area and they are adamant that the snipers were US marines.

Snipers are causing not just carnage but also the paralysis of the ambulance and evacuation services. The biggest hospital after the main one was bombed is in US territory and cut off from the clinic by snipers. The ambulance has been repaired four times after bullet damage. Bodies are lying in the streets because no one can go to collect them without being shot.

(more)

Very long post on this blog http://wildfirejo.blogspot.com/

Required reading for anyone who thinks America isn't guilty of war crimes.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

13. Someday, this kid in an adult's body will come to the realization...

...that what he was doing was NOT a game, that he was ending the lives of real people.

He will need help at that point in time.

[Kanary]

16. I just hope he reaches that realization

[Bandit]

14. Definitely the type of person I want coaching my child

America ~ my heart is breaking for what you have become.

[Kanary]

17. No, unless he makes BEEEG changes

This is NOT a person who will be fit for any type of occupation of dealing with other people.

He has the capacity for making lots of people miserable.

My heart is breaking, too, but I think this is what has been at the heart of Merika for a long time... it's just becoming more obvious.

Kanary

[lumpy]

15. This "true hero" sniper

is truly insane. The obvious gratification this "hero" enjoys makes him no better than a serial killer. I pity the soldier with a conscience who has to be involved with this deliberate killer.

[okieinpain]

18. incredible, do these people not think at all. but when these guy's

start sniping soldiers in other parts of iraq, they will be called evil people. man go figure.