As TRC reported in the May 20 edition of Terror Web Watch (Intel Report), there has been increased attention on the potential for snipers to be useful to the Iraqi insurgency . The insurgents have become less likely to try to engage in gun battles with US forces, as they have come to realize they are outmanned and outgunned. Snipers (see example in photo) would be an ideal capability for them, in addition to remote-controlled IEDs, as both are ways to attack successfully from afar with less risk to the combatant.

There have been attempts online to recruit snipers, pictures of snipers, manuals that instruct on how to be a sniper, as well as videos featuring the work of snipers (one, available from TRC upon request, shows six Coalition soldiers targeted by a sniper). The idea is to create a three-pronged strategy for the insurgency consisting of: (1) snipers and (2) remote controlled IED?s ? both of which allow an insurgent to attack from a distance ? and (3) car bombs, which require a willing suicide bomber but are deemed virtually impossible to defend against. Other insurgency tactics, like launching mortars and engaging soldiers in firefights, are not proving nearly as effective as these three tactics, and so there is an effort to bolster these capabilities. Of the three tactics, snipers are probably what the insurgency is most in need of. Sniper rifles and their scopes are expensive, and a well-trained sniper is a difficult and valuable find. The materials on the Internet mentioned in this article that instruct on how the inexperienced may become snipers is not that dangerous, as sniping is not a skill that can be taught online (in fact, a good number of the pictures look like they were taken from US or English Web sites and are not very detailed). It is, however, demonstrative of the increased attention focused on finding and recruiting individuals with this particular skill set.