grampster
Member
A little dated, but interesting none the less. I got this e-mail from a friend. It's a little dated and I can't swear to its veracity. However most of the info seems to match up with some reports that I received from a client's sons who were over in Iraq as well as some officer corp guys that are friendly with another friend of mine that's into re-enacting and knows a lot of military guys as a result. I'm posting it here because of the political aspect of the war.
Mods, if you think it aught to be in General Gun transfer it. If you think it's not reasonable info, delete it.
From: Wayne
Subject: From the Front Line
Folks,
This is a great "no holds barred" summary by a Marine in Iraq. It is
very
interesting that the same conclusions he has made were the same I
observed in
2003-04.
When you read about the M-16 you will see the results of the tech heads
developing a round that had an increased velocity, but the effect was
the
round had no stopping power as it simply went straight through the
target vs
the tumble effect of a slower velocity bullet which put em down when
hit.
M9 has never been good...bring back the 45.cal.
I am surprised at the M249 results. Might be caused by close combat and
limited use in close quarters.
Bottom line on ammo is 7.62 rules. That is no surprise. Hit once and
they
drop. Sometimes you need not change just to change. This is the case
with
7.62 vs 5.56.
This is unedited so be forwarned.
The last half of this Marine's report is a great analysis of what is
truly
happening. Unfortunately, you will never read, hear, or see the truth
in our
biased news media.
On the Scene Report from Iraq - LONG 31 Oct 2006
This email is from a guy who is there...No politics here, just a
Marine with
a bird's eye view opinion:
1) The M-16 rifle: Thumbs down. Chronic jamming problems with the
talcum
powder like sand over
there. The sand is everywhere. Jordan says you feel filthy
2 minutes after coming out of the shower.
The M-4 carbine version is more popular because it's lighter and
shorter, but it has jamming problems
also. They like the ability to mount the various optical
gun sights and weapons lights on the Picattiny
rails, but the weapon itself is not great in a desert
environment.
They all hate the 5.56mm (.223) round.
Poor penetration on the cinderblock structure common over there
and even
torso hits can't be reliably
/SPAN>counted on to put the enemy down.
Fun fact:
Random autopsies on dead insurgents show a high level of opiate use.
2) The M243 SAW (squad assault weapon): .223 cal. Drum fed light
machine
gun. Big thumbs down.
Universally considered a piece of [bleep]. Chronic jamming problems,
most of
which require partial
disassembly (that's fun in the middle of a firefight).
3) The M9 Beretta 9mm: Mixed bag. Good gun, performs well in desert
environment; but they all hate the
9mm cartridge. The use of handguns for self-defense is actually
fairly
common. Same old story on the
9mm: Bad guys hit multiple times and still in the fight.
4) Mossberg 12ga. Military shotgun: Works well, used frequently for
clearing
houses to good effect.
5) The M240 Machine Gun: 7.62 NATO (.308) cal. belt fed machine gun,
developed to replace the old
M-60 (what a beautiful weapon that was!!). Thumbs up.
Accurate, reliable and the 7.62 round puts' em
down. Originally developed as a vehicle mounted weapon, more and
more are
being dismounted and
taken into the field by infantry. The 7.62 round chews up the
structure
over there.
6) The M2 .50 cal heavy machine gun: Thumb's way, way up. "Ma deuce"
is
still worth her considerable
nbsp; weight in gold. The ultimate fight stopper puts their dicks
in the
dirt every time. The most coveted
weapon in-theater.
7) The .45 pistol: Thumbs up. Still the best pistol round out there.
Everybody authorized to carry a
sidearm is trying to get their hands on one. With few exceptions,
can
reliably be expected to put 'em
down with a torso hit. The special ops guys (who are doing most
of the
pistol work) use the HK military
model and supposedly love it. The old government model 45's are
being
re-issued en masse.
8) The M-14: Thumbs up. They are being re-issued in bulk, mostly in a
modified version to special ops
gs. Modifications include lightweight Kevlar stocks and low power
red
dot or ACOG sights. Very
reliable in the sandy environment, and they love the 7.62 round.
9) The Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle: Thumbs way up. Spectacular range
and
accuracy and hits like a
freight train. Used frequently to take out vehicle suicide
bombers ( we
actually stop a lot of them) and
barricaded enemy. Definitely here to stay.
10) The M24 sniper rifle: Thumbs up. Mostly in .308 but some in 300
win mag.
Heavily modified
Remington 700's. Great performance. Snipers have been used
heavily to
great effect. Rumor has it
that a marine sniper on his third tour in Anbar province has
actually
exceeded Carlos Hathcock's
record for confirmed kills with OVER 100.
11) The new body armor: Thumbs up. Relatively light at approx.
6 lbs. and can reliably be expected to
soak up small shrapnel and even will stop an AK-47 round.
The bad news: Hot as [bleep] to wear, almost
unbearable in the summer heat (which averages over 120
degrees).
Also, the enemy now goes for head
shots whenever possible. All the bull**** about the "old"
body armor making our guys vulnerable to the
IEDs was a non-starter. The IED explosions are enormous and
body armor
doesn't make any
difference at all in most cases.
12) Night Vision and Infrared Equipment: Thumbs way up.
Spectacular performance. Our guys see in
the dark and own the night, period. Very little enemy action
after
evening prayers. More and more
enemy being whacked at night during movement by our
hunter-killer
teams. We've all seen the videos.
13) Lights: Thumbs up. Most of the weapon mounted and personal lights
are
Surefires, and the troops
love 'em. Invaluable for night urban operations. Jordan carried
a $34
Surefire G2 on a neck lanyard
and loved it. I cant help but noce that most of the good
fighting
weapons and ordnance are 50 or
more years old! With all our technology, it's the WWII and
Vietnam era
weapons that everybody
wants! The infantry fighting is frequent, up close and brutal.
No quarter is given or shown.
Bad guy weapons:
1) MostyAK47's. The entire country is an arsenal. Works better in the
desert
than the M16 and the 308
Russian round kills reliably. PKM belt fed light machine guns
are also
common and effective. Luckily,
the enemy mostly shoots like [bleep]. Undisciplined "spray and pray"
type
fire. However, they are seeing
more and more precision weapons, especially sniper rifles. ( Iran
,
again)
Fun fact:
Captured enemies have apparently marveled at the marksmanship of our
guys and
how hard they fight.
They are apparently told in Jihad school that the Americans rely
solely on
technology, and can be easily
beaten in close quarters combat for their lack of toughness.
Let's just say they know better now.
2) The RPG: Probably the infantr wepon most feared by our guys.
Simple, reliable and as common as
dog****. The enemy responded to our up-armored Humvees by aiming
at the
windshields, often at point
blank range. Still killing a lot of our guys.
3) The IED: The biggest killer of all. Can be anything from old
Soviet
anti-armor mines to jury-rigged
artillery shells. Al lot found in Jordan 's area were in
abandoned cars.
The enemy would take 2 or 3
155-mm artillery shells and wire them together. Most were
detonated by
cell phone, and the explosions
are enormous. You're not safe in any vehicle, even an M1 tank.
Driving is by far the most dangerous
thing our guys do over there. Lately, they are much more
sophisticated
"shape charges" (Iranian)
specifically designed to penetrate armor. Fact: Most of the
ready made
IEDs are supplied by Iran , who
is also providing terrorists (Hezbollah types) to train the
insurgents in
their use and tactics. That's why
the attacks have been so deadly lately. Their concealment methods
are
ingenious, the latest being shape
charges in Styrofoam containers spray painted to look like the
cinderblocks that litter all Iraqi roads. We
find about 40% before they detonate, and the bomb disposal guys
are
unsung heroes of this war.
4) Mortars and rockets: Very prevalent. The soviet era 122-mm rockets
(with
an 18-km range) are
becoming more prevalent. One of Jordan 's NCOs lost a leg to one.
These
weapons cause a lot of
damage "inside the wire". Jordan 's base was hit almost daily his
entire
time there by mortar and rocket
fire, often at night to disrupt sleep patterns and cause fatigue
(It
did). More of a psychological weapon
than anything else. The enemy mortar teams would jump out of
vehicles,
fire a few rounds, and then
haul ass in a matter of seconds.
5) Bad guy technology: Simple yet effective. Most communication is by
cell
and satellite phones, and also
by email on laptops. They use handheld GPS units for navigation
and
"Googleearth" for overhead views
of our positions. Their weapons are good, if not fancy, and
prevalent.
Their explosives and bomb
technology is TOP OF THE LINE. Night vision is rare. They are
very
careless with their equipment and
the captured GPS units and laptops are treasure troves of Intel
when
captured.
Who are the bad guys (remember that is what the Captain called them!)?
Most of the carnage is caused by the Zarqawi Al Qaeda group.
They operate mostly in Anbar province
(Fallujah and Ramadi). These are mostly "foreigners", non-Iraqi Sunni
Arab
Jihadists from all over the
Muslim world (and Europe). Most enter Iraq through Syria (with, of
course,
the knowledge and complicity
of the Syrian govt.), and then travel down the "rat line" which is the
trail
of towns along the Euphrates
River that we've been hitting hard for the last few months.
Some are virtually untrained young Jihadists
that often end up as suicide bombers or in "sacrifice squads".
Most, however, are hard core terrorists from
all the usual suspects (Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas). These are
the guys running around murdering
civilians en masse and cutting heads off. The Chechens (many of whom
are
Caucasian), are supposedly
the most ruthless and the best fighters (they have been fighting the
Russians
for years). In the Baghdad
area and south, most of the insurgents are Iranian inspired (and
led) Iraqi Shiites. The Iranian Shiia have
been very adept at infiltrating the Iraqi local govt.'s, the police
forces
and the Army. They have had a
massive spy and agitator network there since the Iran-Iraq war in the
early
80s. Most of the Saddam
loyalists were killed, captured or gave up long ago.
Bad Guy Tactics:
When they are engaged on an infantry level they get their asses kicked
every
time. Brave, but stupid.
Suicidal Banzai-type charges were very common earlier in the war and
still
occurs. They will literally
sacrifice 8-10 man teams in suicide squads by sending them screaming
and
firing AKs and RPGs directly
at our bases just to probe the defenses. They get mowed down like
grass
every time (see the M2 and M240
above). Jordan 's base was hit like this often. When engaged, they
have a
tendency to flee to the same
building, probably for what they think will be a glorious last stand.
Instead, we call in air and that's the end
of that more often than not. These hole-ups are referred to as Alpha
Whiskey
Romeo's (Allah's Waiting
Room). We have the laser guided ground-air thing down to a science.
The fast movers, mostly Marine F-18s,
are taking an ever increasing toll on the enemy. When caught out in
the
open, the helicopter gunships
and AC-130 Spectre gunships cut them to ribbons with cannon and rocket
fire,
especially at night.
Interestingly, artillery is hardly used at all.
Fun fact:
The enemy death toll is supposedly between 45-50 thousand. That is
why we're
seeing less and less
infantry attacks and more IED, suicide bomber [bleep]. The new strategy
is
simple: attrition. The insurgent
tactic most frustrating is their use of civilian non-combatants as
cover.
They know we do all we can to
avoid civilian casualties and therefore schools, hospitals and
(especially) Mosques are locations where they
meet, stage for attacks, cache weapons and ammo and flee to when
engaged.
They have absolutely no
regard whatsoever for civilian casualties. They will terrorize locals
and
murder without hesitation anyone
believed to be sympathetic to the Americans or the new Iraqi govt.
Kidnapping of family members
especially children) is common to influne people they are trying to
influence
but can't reach, such as local
govt. officials, clerics, tribal leaders, etc.). The first thing our
guys
are told is "don't get captured". They
know that if captured they will be tortured and beheaded on the
internet.
Zarqawi openly offers bounties
for anyone who brings him a live American serviceman. This motivates
the
criminal element whom
otherwise don't give a [bleep] bot the war. A lot of the beheading
victims were
actually kidnapped by
common criminals and sold to Zarqawi. As such, for our guys, every
fight is
to the death. Surrender is not
an option.
The Iraqis are a mixed bag. Some fight well, others aren't worth a
damn.
Most do okay with American
support. Finding leaders is hard, but they are getting better.
It is widely viewed that Zarqawi's ue o
suicide bombers against the civilian population was a serious tactical
mistake. Many Iraqis
were galvanized and the caliber of recruits in the Army and the police
forces
went up, along with their
motivation. It also led to an exponential increase in good intel
because the
Iraqis are sick of the insurgent
attacks against civilians. The Kurds are solidly pro-American and
fearless
fighters.
BR>According to Jordan , morale among our guys is very high.
They not only believe they are winning, but that
they are winning decisively. They are stunned and dismayed by what
they see
in the American press,
whom they almost universally view as against them. The embedded
reporters
are despised and distrusted.
They are inflicting casualties at a rate of 20-1 and then see [bleep]
like "Are
we losing in Iraq " on TV and the
print media. For the most part, they are satisfied with their
equipment, food
and leadership. Bottom line
though, and they all say this, there are not enough guys there to
drive the
final stake through the heart of the
insurgency, primarily because there aren't enough troops in-theater to
shut
down the borders with Iran and
Syria The Iranians and the Syrians just can't stand the
thought of Iraq being an American ally (with, of
course, permanent US bases there).
Anyway guys, that's it, hope you found it interesting. I sure did.
Wayne
Mods, if you think it aught to be in General Gun transfer it. If you think it's not reasonable info, delete it.
From: Wayne
Subject: From the Front Line
Folks,
This is a great "no holds barred" summary by a Marine in Iraq. It is
very
interesting that the same conclusions he has made were the same I
observed in
2003-04.
When you read about the M-16 you will see the results of the tech heads
developing a round that had an increased velocity, but the effect was
the
round had no stopping power as it simply went straight through the
target vs
the tumble effect of a slower velocity bullet which put em down when
hit.
M9 has never been good...bring back the 45.cal.
I am surprised at the M249 results. Might be caused by close combat and
limited use in close quarters.
Bottom line on ammo is 7.62 rules. That is no surprise. Hit once and
they
drop. Sometimes you need not change just to change. This is the case
with
7.62 vs 5.56.
This is unedited so be forwarned.
The last half of this Marine's report is a great analysis of what is
truly
happening. Unfortunately, you will never read, hear, or see the truth
in our
biased news media.
On the Scene Report from Iraq - LONG 31 Oct 2006
This email is from a guy who is there...No politics here, just a
Marine with
a bird's eye view opinion:
1) The M-16 rifle: Thumbs down. Chronic jamming problems with the
talcum
powder like sand over
there. The sand is everywhere. Jordan says you feel filthy
2 minutes after coming out of the shower.
The M-4 carbine version is more popular because it's lighter and
shorter, but it has jamming problems
also. They like the ability to mount the various optical
gun sights and weapons lights on the Picattiny
rails, but the weapon itself is not great in a desert
environment.
They all hate the 5.56mm (.223) round.
Poor penetration on the cinderblock structure common over there
and even
torso hits can't be reliably
/SPAN>counted on to put the enemy down.
Fun fact:
Random autopsies on dead insurgents show a high level of opiate use.
2) The M243 SAW (squad assault weapon): .223 cal. Drum fed light
machine
gun. Big thumbs down.
Universally considered a piece of [bleep]. Chronic jamming problems,
most of
which require partial
disassembly (that's fun in the middle of a firefight).
3) The M9 Beretta 9mm: Mixed bag. Good gun, performs well in desert
environment; but they all hate the
9mm cartridge. The use of handguns for self-defense is actually
fairly
common. Same old story on the
9mm: Bad guys hit multiple times and still in the fight.
4) Mossberg 12ga. Military shotgun: Works well, used frequently for
clearing
houses to good effect.
5) The M240 Machine Gun: 7.62 NATO (.308) cal. belt fed machine gun,
developed to replace the old
M-60 (what a beautiful weapon that was!!). Thumbs up.
Accurate, reliable and the 7.62 round puts' em
down. Originally developed as a vehicle mounted weapon, more and
more are
being dismounted and
taken into the field by infantry. The 7.62 round chews up the
structure
over there.
6) The M2 .50 cal heavy machine gun: Thumb's way, way up. "Ma deuce"
is
still worth her considerable
nbsp; weight in gold. The ultimate fight stopper puts their dicks
in the
dirt every time. The most coveted
weapon in-theater.
7) The .45 pistol: Thumbs up. Still the best pistol round out there.
Everybody authorized to carry a
sidearm is trying to get their hands on one. With few exceptions,
can
reliably be expected to put 'em
down with a torso hit. The special ops guys (who are doing most
of the
pistol work) use the HK military
model and supposedly love it. The old government model 45's are
being
re-issued en masse.
8) The M-14: Thumbs up. They are being re-issued in bulk, mostly in a
modified version to special ops
gs. Modifications include lightweight Kevlar stocks and low power
red
dot or ACOG sights. Very
reliable in the sandy environment, and they love the 7.62 round.
9) The Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle: Thumbs way up. Spectacular range
and
accuracy and hits like a
freight train. Used frequently to take out vehicle suicide
bombers ( we
actually stop a lot of them) and
barricaded enemy. Definitely here to stay.
10) The M24 sniper rifle: Thumbs up. Mostly in .308 but some in 300
win mag.
Heavily modified
Remington 700's. Great performance. Snipers have been used
heavily to
great effect. Rumor has it
that a marine sniper on his third tour in Anbar province has
actually
exceeded Carlos Hathcock's
record for confirmed kills with OVER 100.
11) The new body armor: Thumbs up. Relatively light at approx.
6 lbs. and can reliably be expected to
soak up small shrapnel and even will stop an AK-47 round.
The bad news: Hot as [bleep] to wear, almost
unbearable in the summer heat (which averages over 120
degrees).
Also, the enemy now goes for head
shots whenever possible. All the bull**** about the "old"
body armor making our guys vulnerable to the
IEDs was a non-starter. The IED explosions are enormous and
body armor
doesn't make any
difference at all in most cases.
12) Night Vision and Infrared Equipment: Thumbs way up.
Spectacular performance. Our guys see in
the dark and own the night, period. Very little enemy action
after
evening prayers. More and more
enemy being whacked at night during movement by our
hunter-killer
teams. We've all seen the videos.
13) Lights: Thumbs up. Most of the weapon mounted and personal lights
are
Surefires, and the troops
love 'em. Invaluable for night urban operations. Jordan carried
a $34
Surefire G2 on a neck lanyard
and loved it. I cant help but noce that most of the good
fighting
weapons and ordnance are 50 or
more years old! With all our technology, it's the WWII and
Vietnam era
weapons that everybody
wants! The infantry fighting is frequent, up close and brutal.
No quarter is given or shown.
Bad guy weapons:
1) MostyAK47's. The entire country is an arsenal. Works better in the
desert
than the M16 and the 308
Russian round kills reliably. PKM belt fed light machine guns
are also
common and effective. Luckily,
the enemy mostly shoots like [bleep]. Undisciplined "spray and pray"
type
fire. However, they are seeing
more and more precision weapons, especially sniper rifles. ( Iran
,
again)
Fun fact:
Captured enemies have apparently marveled at the marksmanship of our
guys and
how hard they fight.
They are apparently told in Jihad school that the Americans rely
solely on
technology, and can be easily
beaten in close quarters combat for their lack of toughness.
Let's just say they know better now.
2) The RPG: Probably the infantr wepon most feared by our guys.
Simple, reliable and as common as
dog****. The enemy responded to our up-armored Humvees by aiming
at the
windshields, often at point
blank range. Still killing a lot of our guys.
3) The IED: The biggest killer of all. Can be anything from old
Soviet
anti-armor mines to jury-rigged
artillery shells. Al lot found in Jordan 's area were in
abandoned cars.
The enemy would take 2 or 3
155-mm artillery shells and wire them together. Most were
detonated by
cell phone, and the explosions
are enormous. You're not safe in any vehicle, even an M1 tank.
Driving is by far the most dangerous
thing our guys do over there. Lately, they are much more
sophisticated
"shape charges" (Iranian)
specifically designed to penetrate armor. Fact: Most of the
ready made
IEDs are supplied by Iran , who
is also providing terrorists (Hezbollah types) to train the
insurgents in
their use and tactics. That's why
the attacks have been so deadly lately. Their concealment methods
are
ingenious, the latest being shape
charges in Styrofoam containers spray painted to look like the
cinderblocks that litter all Iraqi roads. We
find about 40% before they detonate, and the bomb disposal guys
are
unsung heroes of this war.
4) Mortars and rockets: Very prevalent. The soviet era 122-mm rockets
(with
an 18-km range) are
becoming more prevalent. One of Jordan 's NCOs lost a leg to one.
These
weapons cause a lot of
damage "inside the wire". Jordan 's base was hit almost daily his
entire
time there by mortar and rocket
fire, often at night to disrupt sleep patterns and cause fatigue
(It
did). More of a psychological weapon
than anything else. The enemy mortar teams would jump out of
vehicles,
fire a few rounds, and then
haul ass in a matter of seconds.
5) Bad guy technology: Simple yet effective. Most communication is by
cell
and satellite phones, and also
by email on laptops. They use handheld GPS units for navigation
and
"Googleearth" for overhead views
of our positions. Their weapons are good, if not fancy, and
prevalent.
Their explosives and bomb
technology is TOP OF THE LINE. Night vision is rare. They are
very
careless with their equipment and
the captured GPS units and laptops are treasure troves of Intel
when
captured.
Who are the bad guys (remember that is what the Captain called them!)?
Most of the carnage is caused by the Zarqawi Al Qaeda group.
They operate mostly in Anbar province
(Fallujah and Ramadi). These are mostly "foreigners", non-Iraqi Sunni
Arab
Jihadists from all over the
Muslim world (and Europe). Most enter Iraq through Syria (with, of
course,
the knowledge and complicity
of the Syrian govt.), and then travel down the "rat line" which is the
trail
of towns along the Euphrates
River that we've been hitting hard for the last few months.
Some are virtually untrained young Jihadists
that often end up as suicide bombers or in "sacrifice squads".
Most, however, are hard core terrorists from
all the usual suspects (Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas). These are
the guys running around murdering
civilians en masse and cutting heads off. The Chechens (many of whom
are
Caucasian), are supposedly
the most ruthless and the best fighters (they have been fighting the
Russians
for years). In the Baghdad
area and south, most of the insurgents are Iranian inspired (and
led) Iraqi Shiites. The Iranian Shiia have
been very adept at infiltrating the Iraqi local govt.'s, the police
forces
and the Army. They have had a
massive spy and agitator network there since the Iran-Iraq war in the
early
80s. Most of the Saddam
loyalists were killed, captured or gave up long ago.
Bad Guy Tactics:
When they are engaged on an infantry level they get their asses kicked
every
time. Brave, but stupid.
Suicidal Banzai-type charges were very common earlier in the war and
still
occurs. They will literally
sacrifice 8-10 man teams in suicide squads by sending them screaming
and
firing AKs and RPGs directly
at our bases just to probe the defenses. They get mowed down like
grass
every time (see the M2 and M240
above). Jordan 's base was hit like this often. When engaged, they
have a
tendency to flee to the same
building, probably for what they think will be a glorious last stand.
Instead, we call in air and that's the end
of that more often than not. These hole-ups are referred to as Alpha
Whiskey
Romeo's (Allah's Waiting
Room). We have the laser guided ground-air thing down to a science.
The fast movers, mostly Marine F-18s,
are taking an ever increasing toll on the enemy. When caught out in
the
open, the helicopter gunships
and AC-130 Spectre gunships cut them to ribbons with cannon and rocket
fire,
especially at night.
Interestingly, artillery is hardly used at all.
Fun fact:
The enemy death toll is supposedly between 45-50 thousand. That is
why we're
seeing less and less
infantry attacks and more IED, suicide bomber [bleep]. The new strategy
is
simple: attrition. The insurgent
tactic most frustrating is their use of civilian non-combatants as
cover.
They know we do all we can to
avoid civilian casualties and therefore schools, hospitals and
(especially) Mosques are locations where they
meet, stage for attacks, cache weapons and ammo and flee to when
engaged.
They have absolutely no
regard whatsoever for civilian casualties. They will terrorize locals
and
murder without hesitation anyone
believed to be sympathetic to the Americans or the new Iraqi govt.
Kidnapping of family members
especially children) is common to influne people they are trying to
influence
but can't reach, such as local
govt. officials, clerics, tribal leaders, etc.). The first thing our
guys
are told is "don't get captured". They
know that if captured they will be tortured and beheaded on the
internet.
Zarqawi openly offers bounties
for anyone who brings him a live American serviceman. This motivates
the
criminal element whom
otherwise don't give a [bleep] bot the war. A lot of the beheading
victims were
actually kidnapped by
common criminals and sold to Zarqawi. As such, for our guys, every
fight is
to the death. Surrender is not
an option.
The Iraqis are a mixed bag. Some fight well, others aren't worth a
damn.
Most do okay with American
support. Finding leaders is hard, but they are getting better.
It is widely viewed that Zarqawi's ue o
suicide bombers against the civilian population was a serious tactical
mistake. Many Iraqis
were galvanized and the caliber of recruits in the Army and the police
forces
went up, along with their
motivation. It also led to an exponential increase in good intel
because the
Iraqis are sick of the insurgent
attacks against civilians. The Kurds are solidly pro-American and
fearless
fighters.
BR>According to Jordan , morale among our guys is very high.
They not only believe they are winning, but that
they are winning decisively. They are stunned and dismayed by what
they see
in the American press,
whom they almost universally view as against them. The embedded
reporters
are despised and distrusted.
They are inflicting casualties at a rate of 20-1 and then see [bleep]
like "Are
we losing in Iraq " on TV and the
print media. For the most part, they are satisfied with their
equipment, food
and leadership. Bottom line
though, and they all say this, there are not enough guys there to
drive the
final stake through the heart of the
insurgency, primarily because there aren't enough troops in-theater to
shut
down the borders with Iran and
Syria The Iranians and the Syrians just can't stand the
thought of Iraq being an American ally (with, of
course, permanent US bases there).
Anyway guys, that's it, hope you found it interesting. I sure did.
Wayne
