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I wonder how many of these guys get theirs in the end.
A True story or a rebel propaganda piece? You decide...
Iraq's sharpshooting rebel legend
By Hala Jaber in Baghdad
21feb05
---WITH elbows bandaged and knees padded for comfort, Abu Othman lay face down on a Ramadi rooftop and cradled his Russian-made sniper rifle as he waited for the tall American soldier to appear.
The soldier's habit of urinating into the street from the top of his Bradley armoured vehicle had angered Sunni Muslim inhabitants of the tree-lined suburb he patrolled. It was not the urinating as such that offended them; it was the way he exposed himself regardless of whether any women were around.
Ramadi's insurgents twice tried to take out the Bradley, first with a rocket-propelled grenade and then with a Russian C5K missile. They missed both times - and that was when they sent for Abu Othman.
It was a long, hot wait that summer's day on the rooftop and Abu Othman, 30, was glad of his headphones. He played his favourite verses from the Koran and their soothing flow cleared his mind, infusing him with a determination to see through the assignment, come what may. He prayed for God to deliver his target.
"Then the call came on my mobile phone, informing me that the soldier and his vehicle were finally heading my way," he said.
"The moment arrived. The Bradley stopped and the soldier stood on it ready to relieve himself. He was relaxed. He put his hand on his trousers. I took aim and fired one shot and saw him drop dead."
Abu Othman punctuated the story with praise to Allah for his success. "It was the perfect situation for me," he said. "The soldier was standing and that made him such an easy target."
In the world of the Iraqi insurgents, Abu Othman, not his real name, is a celebrity. Known to all as The Sniper, he is acclaimed for the consistency with which he dispatches victims - US troops and Iraqi "collaborators" - from ranges of 1000m or more.
The tale of how a humble calligrapher became a renowned marksman by teaching himself from websites, honing his skills with computer games and studying Hollywood films such as The Deer Hunter is the stuff of legend in the Sunni triangle of militant towns to the north and west of Baghdad.
One commander after another had boasted to me of his prowess and when a meeting was arranged at a house in the capital's suburbs last week, the most striking thing about Abu Othman was his unadulterated pride in killing.
He claimed to have killed 29 men in all - 20 Americans and nine Iraqis. "I want to cry when I speak about my work," he said at one point during our interview. "I am so afraid that God will deprive me of this talent he bestowed upon me."
The son of a senior police officer, Abu Othman dropped out of school to join Saddam Hussein's army but, to his family's horror, went absent without leave and lived like a fugitive for years, eventually finding work as a shepherd in the desert that straddles Iraq's borders with Syria and Jordan.
When Saddam fell, he returned to his home town of Fallujah with his wife and four children. Soon afterwards came the first outpouring of hostility to US troops in the town. They opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators, killing 13. The incident stirred in Abu Othman a potent mix of nationalist fervour and religious zeal. "I decided to do something more with my life," he said.
Two passions persuaded him that he was destined to be a sniper. He loved to shoot birds and was also a skilled calligrapher, engraving glass with handwritten verses from the Koran. He was convinced that the precision and patience this entailed would serve him well in the insurgency. "Sniping was the most natural thing for me to progress to," he said.
He pushed himself hard to make up for what he lacked in education, reading manuals and grasping the rudiments of mathematics and physics required to calculate the range of a target, a bullet's drop over distance, the impact of wind speed and all the other technical intricacies of sharpshooting. He found lots of help on the internet.
For months his entertainment included shooting games on his PlayStation. He believes they sharpened his senses. His favourite films included Enemy at the Gates, starring Jude Law as a sniper, and JFK, Oliver Stone's recreation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Borrowing a sniper rifle, he practised for hours in the desert, firing at wooden targets he had fashioned in the shape of men. "I practised various distances, from 300m to 1000m," he said. "I trained until I felt ready to go and try my skills in the field."
That moment came last April, as US forces prepared for an assault on the rebel bastion of Fallujah. Carrying another borrowed rifle, Abu Othman volunteered his services to the insurgents.
"A day or two later they sent me a note asking me to take care of an officer in an American convoy who was involved in negotiating ceasefire conditions with officials from Fallujah," he said.
The insurgents ordered him to a mosque. "I was scared as I made my way there. It was my first mission and my mind was racing: would I get the target or would I not?"
He climbed up to the minaret with a member of a surveillance team that had identified the US officer as a target and was able to point him out among a group of soldiers in the street below.
Before setting up his rifle, Abu Othman said takbeers - repeating "Allahu akbar (God is greatest)" over and over again. "I looked through the scope, worked out the calculations and fired. I saw him drop in the middle of the soldiers.
"The mood in the mosque was buoyant ... people and sheiks hugged me and congratulated me and there were more takbeers." Later, the sheiks treated him to a large lunch where Pepsi flowed like water. "The mood was beautiful and I returned home almost out of my mind with joy."
He received a visit from the fighters that night. "They came with a present," Abu Othman said excitedly. "They gave me my own personal sniper rifle as a token of their appreciation and a sign of their confidence in my abilities. It was still wrapped in its nylon."
The weapon was a semi-automatic SVD Dragunov sniper rifle, with a range of more than 1200m. The insurgents soon called for him again, this time to "take out" an American sniper on the roof of a house on one of Fallujah's front lines.
He was escorted to another house some distance away that gave him an uninterrupted view of the American's position. Abu Othman brought with him a home-made dummy head - a painted face on a stick topped off with a chequered headdress. His companion used it to create a diversion while Abu Othman made his calculations.
"I put my trust in God," he said. "My only feeling was that I must kill him. Everything was ready. I looked into my scope and saw movement from the hole in the wall. I fired and waited.
"There was silence from his side. I wasn't even sure whether I'd got him. Some other mujaheddin threw a few grenades at the house where he was positioned and when there was still no response they stormed the place. They found him dead on the rooftop with a bullet in his face."
What drives him to keep killing? "When I snipe at my target and watch him drop, I feel elated - dizzy with ecstasy. I fall on the ground, shouting to God, calling 'Allahu akbar', for God is indeed great," he said. "When their snipers kill one of us, we go to heaven as martyrs, but when we kill them they go to ."
From The Sunday Times of London in The Australian
I wonder if he thinks his job is 'fun' also? This is some disturbing, sick shiiit.
I wonder how many of these guys get theirs in the end.
Last edited by Useruser666; 02-21-2005 at 02:48 PM.
this is the biggest piece of propaganda bull i've ever read...
it is also contradictory in the fact that he watched hollywood movies... and he kills his own iraqi people... first, i don't believe the story and second, if it is true, he is a terrorist and will be killed soon...
Aside from the article..I just want some clarification..
If he targets US combatants he's still a terrorist?
He's not going after civilians here.
I just want a clarification of what a terrorist is now.
- Manny
Last edited by Jekka; 02-21-2005 at 03:25 PM. Reason: Not logged in
Well, if a majority of people in Iraq voted, then isn't he using terror to push his ideals?
We didn't have a majority of people vote anywhere before we invaded, so were we terrorists?
Where do you draw the line between a "legal" (and I use the term loosely) comabatant and a terrorist? Is anyone opposing the US military now a terrorist?
he is your definition of terrorists.. the u.s. soldiers are there trying to help rebuild the country that saddam ed up
no terrorism is legal in iraq... just like in the u.s. there is no legal terrorism...
We invaded Iraq to allow the people to rule themselves by majority. The insurgents/terrorists are not a majority and are using violence to cause enough chaos for them to gain power. The US troops do not use violence to overthrow the majority of the people. The US troops are there to ensure the majority rules, until it is self sufficient.
We invaded Iraq under false pretenses. Changing the reason doesn't make them facts.
BULL
We invaded becasue (allegedly) our national security was at stake. We had an agenda, the liberation of Iraq was a side effect
The insurgents/terrorists are not a majority and are using violence to cause enough chaos for them to gain power. The US troops do not use violence to overthrow the majority of the people.
HUH? Did they sing Kumbaya on the way in? 10,000 Iraqi's and 1,500 Americans have died from some ed up singing then!
OF COURSE THEY USED VIOLENCE!!!! THEY ARE A MILITARY!
Wrong again, the US troops are there because we went in to capture Sadaams weapon stockpiles.The US troops are there to ensure the majority rules, until it is self sufficient.
Look, I'm not even arguing whether the war was justified, but lets at least get the correct reasons for actions in the first place.
You can't have it both ways. You can't say that terrorists are people who attack civilians, then call someone who attacks an occupying force, which is what the US military is (they don't even dispute that), a terrorist as well.
If a majority election is the justification for war, we didn't have one before this war.
Ok, so under what regards does someone become a combatant and not a terrorist?
this guy can't die soon enough but he isn't a terrorist. unless you want to stretch the definition to include any enemy .. which you really can't.
BTW, I'm not conding his killing of American soldiers (before it gets controted that way). I just want the terrorist defention used correctly.
well this terrorist is not helping iraq by killing american soldiers or iraqi soldiers..he is shooting the wrong people if he is trying to help iraq... if he wants the u.s. out of iraq he needs to help in the rbuilding process... u.s. troops aren't leaving until the place is rebuilt...
Dude, can you or can't you define terrorist? It's not that complicated.
this sniper is a terrorist... here is your formal def buddy...
terrorist
adj : characteristic of someone who employs terrorism (especially as a political weapon); "terrorist activity"; "terrorist state" n : a radical who employs terror as a political weapon; usually organizes with other terrorists in small cells; often uses religion as a cover for terrorist activities
It seems to me he's using a gun as a physical weapon. How does he fit into that catagory?
QUOTE=MannyIsGod]
BULL
We invaded becasue (allegedly) our national security was at stake. We had an agenda, the liberation of Iraq was a side effect
I think that is your opinion. I think you might have it turned around, but that's just my opinion.
HUH? Did they sing Kumbaya on the way in? 10,000 Iraqi's and 1,500 Americans have died from some ed up singing then!
OF COURSE THEY USED VIOLENCE!!!! THEY ARE A MILITARY!
Manny, I stated the US troops invaded Iraq. That is where the violence was used. Even then, we were not randomly gunning down random civilians. We were not killing people for peacefully protesting us.
The US troops are not holding people at gun point to vote. The troops are not shooting people that vote for a certain candidate. They are giving their lives so that the people of Iraq have the freedom to vote. Now the majority of Iraq's have voted for the first time in a free election. Something they have not had in a long time.
I guess it comes down to this.
The US wants Iraq to be controled by the majority of it's citizens.
The terrorists want control of Iraq for themselves, no matter how small a minority they represent.
Wrong again, the US troops are there because we went in to capture Sadaams weapon stockpiles.
Look, I'm not even arguing whether the war was justified, but lets at least get the correct reasons for actions in the first place.
Those are some of many reasons and I still support our actions.
You can't have it both ways. You can't say that terrorists are people who attack civilians, then call someone who attacks an occupying force, which is what the US military is (they don't even dispute that), a terrorist as well.
I never said that. Manny, you often associate other people's words with mine. I wish you would take a second look before you leap.
If a majority election is the justification for war, we didn't have one before this war.[/QUOTE]
That's nice. I guess you mean, "we didn't vote on whether to invade Iraq or not"? That is not a valid comparison at all.
you must not understand the definition.. sorry, can't help you there..
Ok, whats YOUR defenition of a terrorist Chris? Once I hear that, I'll proceed. Don't want to put anyone else words in your mouth after all.
I think the definition given above is suitable.
But to be certain....
One that engages in acts or an act of terrorism.
terrorist
adj : characteristic of someone who employs terrorism (especially as a political weapon); "terrorist activity"; "terrorist state" n : a radical who employs terror as a political weapon; usually organizes with other terrorists in small cells; often uses religion as a cover for terrorist activities
I understand that the way you are applying it can easily be applied to our forces as well.
I think the bottom line is that Bush's administration has sold the general American public that everyone that fights us back is automatically a terrorist, and this thread is a picture perfect example of people buying into that notion hook line and sinker.
It's one thing to describe someone who car bombs a hotel as a terrorist, but it's quite another to put an enemy sniper targeting soldiers in that category. Remember, we have people doing the EXACT same thing the person in this story does. Snipers are primarily psychological weapons.
Justification does not determine who a terrorist is, methods do.
Very well, then define terrorism. Is the shooting of an army soldier terrorism?
we are not employing terror you dumb ..we are trying to bring about peace in iraq...
and our snipers are shooting the people in iraq who are trying to topple iraq, not build it up...
you're so ing blind... go play your guitar or something..
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