Elusive sniper saps US morale in Baghdad

I just want to know how they can link all of these killings to just one man, Juba. Have they made a forensic link with the bullets and determined that they all have originated from the same gun? If not, we could be talking about several different snipers. They have no idea who this Juba is, what he looks like, what his nationality is, or anything.

I'm just interested in how they determined that a single man is responsible for anywhere from 2 deaths and 6 injuries, to 12-36 deaths according to different accounts. The fact that there are no second shots fired does not mean it's the same sniper. It could just mean they have been instructed and taught by the same group. They realize that it's much smarter to take one shot and be done, so that it's difficult for the enemy to find your location, thus saving you for another day and another shot.

So, does anyone know how these sniper shootings have been linked to one single guy?

Def. impressed me with y'r insight of the hole sniper thing.....wierd how you kids have this fasination of snipers.

If I may ask if you are planing to join the army etc. ? for real not just on the comput'z ? Spec. snippers ?

And when he gets back will def. tell him and he can lable off the server he's on....make sence?

Y'r Canadian friend,
Sven

Originally posted by svenglezz
Def. impressed me with y'r insight of the hole sniper thing.....wierd how you kids have this fasination of snipers.

If I may ask if you are planing to join the army etc. ? for real not just on the comput'z ? Spec. snippers ?

And when he gets back will def. tell him and he can lable off the server he's on....make sence?

Y'r Canadian friend,
Sven

Thank you very much svenglezz

I have thought about joining the military, over and over again. Not the Marines, because I would rather be in the Rangers, than Recon; but I do respect those men in Recon, and in the Marines. If I joined the military, I would def be a sniper, and try and work my way up to the Army Rangers, then hopefully get good enough to go Delta. Then I would retire from the army, and go for CIA; but I have other large interest in life. Instead I may do something in the Astrophysics/Astrobiology field, or work as a nuclear physicist. So I am still thinking about it

Thanks for asking though, and yes, I would like to play against your son in a server.

Your friend, LOD

Originally posted by LiquidationOfDiscrepancy
There were also many Soviet female snipers.

Absolutely, you are very correct (and I was not trying to exclude women)

One example of a USSR female sniper was Ludmilla Pavlichenko (link)(title: the most deadly woman ever). Paylichenko has been credited with 309 kills, however; the bulk of the female Soviet snipers were considered ‘defensive snipers’ averaging in the 40-60+range. The Soviets also produced some female fighter aces such as Yamshchikova (link) . The USSR also had key women in the role of tank commanders and gunnery support.

.

JUBA??? They should nickname him Jarmen Kell

Soulja has no integrity and is wthout honor. He is present here for only one purpose and that is to belittle and smear the US and her allies. He is the enemy and his weapons are lies.

Absolutely, you are very correct (and I was not trying to exclude women)

One example of a USSR female sniper was Ludmilla Pavlichenko (link)(title: the most deadly woman ever). Paylichenko has been credited with 309 kills, however; the bulk of the female Soviet snipers were considered ‘defensive snipers’ averaging in the 40-60+range. The Soviets also produced some female fighter aces such as Yamshchikova

Thank you for those great links, I love the information you provided about the USSR female snipers. Again, thanks

Your friend, LOD

Sniping has been going on since the beginning
of this war in Iraq. Americans are doing
plenty of it. They stake out positions that
they expect insurgents to lay down improvised
explosive devices. When they take out one of
the insurgents though they don't publicize it,
and they have taken out plenty this way.
Jack Coughlin made reference to this in an
interview that I observed of him. Jack Coughlin
for you uneducated was the top Marine sniper
in Iraq until his very recent retirement. His
book is for sale at Amazon.com. The title is
"Shooter:The Autobiography of the top-ranked
Marine Sniper". I recommend the book.

Book Description from Amazon.com

With more than sixty confirmed kills, Jack Coughlin
is the Marine Corps' top-ranked sniper. Shooter is
his harrowing first-person account of a sniper's
life on and off the modern battlefield. Gunnery Sgt.
Jack Coughlin is a divorced father of two who grew
up in a wealthy Boston suburb. At the age of nineteen,
although he had never even held a gun, he joined the
Marines and would spend the next twenty years behind
the scope of a long-range precision rifle as a sniper.
In that time he accumulated one of the most successful
sniper records in the Corps, ranging through many of
the world's hotspots. During Operation Iraqi Freedom
alone, he recorded at least thirty-six kills, thirteen
of them in a single twenty-four-hour period.
Now Coughlin has written a highly personal story about
his deadly craft, taking readers deep inside an
invisible society that is off-limits to outsiders.
This is not a heroic battlefield memoir, but the careful
study of an exceptional man who must keep his sanity
while carrying forward one of the deadliest legacies in
the U.S. military today.

Like I said, I recommend you buy it. Support your
local sniper and entertain yourself with his fascinating
story.

Good article in the Guardian, but I didn't think much of your concluding comments they seem, in spite of the fact you state otherwise, to almost glorify this guy(s)/girl(s). As elusive & skillful as he/she may be the coallition forces will eventually take the person out. He/she has to win every single time out to remain at large/living, while the coallition forces only have to win once. Apparently coallition force commanders do not consider this sniper(s) to constitute enough of a threat to warrant sending out a flood of counter-sniper teams, so the comment about sapping morale is probably exaggerated.

I have to disagree with someone who said the lack of kills does not indicate a good sniper. One wounded GI ties up around 8 other GI's, whereas one killed GI only ties up a couple. Logic should tell you that seriously wounding the enemy is better than killing him.

[edit on 7-8-2005 by Astronomer68]

I have to agree with the comments made about sapping
morale being a bit over stated. If anyones morale is
sapped its the terrorists. They think its so hopeless,
they don't even mind suicide missions. I am from a military
family and I have seen all this stuff first hand over and
over. I can say that most things the enemy does, really
has very little effect on morale. Most of the damaging
morale things come from our own side. I have seen
the complainers and quiters first hand, the ones who
just want out of the fight. I have no arguement with
them. Let them out. Most I have observed though
are able to meet the challenge. Its sort of bugs me
when someone tries to promote this idea that the
US service man is not up to it, that his morale is sapped,
that the enemy is superior, etc. My observations of
our troops is that 99% are able to handle it as long as
the leaders don't whimp out. All of our troops were
volunteers, nobody drafted. Most of them know this
and follow their commitments which were freely
given. I know I did, and my wife did and my two
sons did. I really feel a little insulted that someone
assumes that our kind of people can't handle it, that
we are inferior to some enemy that can shoot some
people and thereby sap our morale and make us
chicken out. I just don't believe most Americans think that
way.



[edit on 8-8-2005 by MajorCee]

maybe its the same sniper that we shot and wounded after he try to kill one of the American soldiers who ironically helped the wounded sniper after they found them. the insurgents were recording the down American soldier who got up fast.

[edit on 8-8-2005 by deltaboy]

senerio, Hyping up a fictious guy as a last ditch effort to boost their morale.

I'm usually the first person to yell "Pig pile on Souljah!", but I read his initial post more than once and I feel that it is newsworthy and possessing only minimal spin.

As it happens, I have some sources in country who have mentioned this individual(s) to me. Most, if not practically all of the people who are taking pot-shots at our troops are rabble, with little or no training. This individual, however, does represent an exception.

Many observers believe that this person(s) is either a Republican Guardsman who has had the proper training, or perhaps a hired gun from Syria, Lebanon, or the Palestinian territories. He practices fire dicipline, and good concealment and disengagement techniques. The negative effect that one or two hardened snipers can have on an entrenched fighting force can really add up over time. The only way to get him will be to have another sniper team observe him during a shot, or possibly observe him moving to a new perch. The previous comment about the importance of receiving the support of the local populace is spot on.

I have the good fortune of working for a company that is actually trying to do something about this. Our counter-sniper products are in the field, and are being used every day to help reduce the threat to out troops caused by enemy snipers. Check out our cool gear:

BOOMERANG

BOOMERANG Movie (requires Quicktime)

Beat him at his own game, such as setting up a decoy. Learn his patterns, the environment which he usually strikes down targets in, and take him/her down.
Taking out an elite skilled sniper isn't as easy as it may seem.

Originally posted by MajorCee
I have to agree with the comments made about sapping
morale being a bit over stated. If anyones morale is
sapped its the terrorists. They think its so hopeless,
they don't even mind suicide missions. I am from a military
family and I have seen all this stuff first hand over and
over. I can say that most things the enemy does, really
has very little effect on morale. Most of the damaging
morale things come from our own side. I have seen
the complainers and quiters first hand, the ones who
just want out of the fight. I have no arguement with
them. Let them out. Most I have observed though
are able to meet the challenge. Its sort of bugs me
when someone tries to promote this idea that the
US service man is not up to it, that his morale is sapped,
that the enemy is superior, etc. My observations of
our troops is that 99% are able to handle it as long as
the leaders don't whimp out. All of our troops were
volunteers, nobody drafted. Most of them know this
and follow their commitments which were freely
given. I know I did, and my wife did and my two
sons did. I really feel a little insulted that someone
assumes that our kind of people can't handle it, that
we are inferior to some enemy that can shoot some
people and thereby sap our morale and make us
chicken out. I just don't believe most Americans think that
way.

Major Cee you are absolutely right... our men are up for any challenge anywhere any time. Its our leaders who wuss out.

Personally i think this guy is fake charecter made up my the terrorist propaganda machine... load of bull if you ask me... we would hear this story from more sources if it were true.

not sure I bet it's real.....he even looks real....

I bet it's like the movie........as others have noted.

And if it is true....the person would be a natural expert at it, even the best in the world snipers ( would be amazed.....if it was any "PRE-made" sniper he would been out'a there long time ago...prob. wanting to be in the USA sniper teams or some private sec. co. )

And never know'n the Islamic prog. mach. to make up Hero's,
They like the people to worship _od and realy only _od. or there leaders....that's about it...Heros' are created and they just deal with it.

Y'r Canadaian friend,
Sven

Notice what he's wearing.....?

All white ? is that not kind'a strange? all the pic's on the net I see are snipers in Camo.....even in BF2 they have all deck'd out

But him in white and the cloth on his head like he would "BE" the window while snipers are looking for him in the window. Or guess good coverage for the White walls/ buildings behind him.

And dam he got big ass feet

Y'r Canadain friend,
Sven

OK - So that Everybody is Satisfied, here is yet Another Sniper Story from the Iraqi War, only this time from the Other Side:

Guardian Unlimited - A US sniper's story: 'Everyone I shot deserved it. It doesn't bother me'

Killing from long distance is 'weird', says Wilks, who joined the army after six years as a poorly paid waiter. 'It's not like in a firefight, when it is really scary and you don't think about it. When you are looking down the scope and no one knows you are there, it gives you a sense of power. You get an adrenalin rush, though I'm not sure if it is in a good way.'

Now I am Sure that, if the Same titles was posted from the "other side" - like an Iraqi Sniper said in the Interview :"Everybody I shot, Deserved it!" all Hell would break loose in here. But Hey - since he is a US Sniper, he can say that, and everything is Fine and Dandy.

This one is Just for a Senior Citizen with National Rifle Association Benefactor Memebership.

thanx Solja

Nice to see y'r not bias as other like t'a claim. You see it as you see it.

Y'r Canadian friend,
Sven

And thanx again for the link (s)

I can understand his sense of power, and pleasure that he gets from killing other people but remember, what I posted earlier.

"The second thing a sniper shouldn't have is called the Texas Tower Syndrome. Which basically means a sniper who gets such a thrill out of killing their subjects that they kill more than they need to. This is a maniac. A cold blooded killer, whom enjoys killing people. "

Lets hope he doesn't kill more than he has to, or come back to America, and murder people out of pure pleasure.