Subject: A Marine's IMPORTANT SLANT ON THE WAR
>
> HERE IS NEWS THAT YOU WILL NEVER SEE IN THE US MEDIA AND YOU DON'T
> HAVE TO PLOW THROUGH ADVERTISING? THESE ARE MY HEROS, STRAIGHT OUT FACTS,
> NO UPPER EAST SIDE SPIN, JUST WHAT IT'S LIKE.
>
>
> This email from a Marine who's in Iraq. No politics here; just a
> Marine with
 a bird's eye view opinion:



>
> US Weapons:
>
> 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 lack the 
ability to mount the various optical
> gun sights and weapons lights on the
 pica tinny rails, but the weapon
> itself is not great in a desert environment.
They all hate the 556 mm (..223)
> round. Poor penetration on the cinder block 
structure common over there and
> even torso hits can't be reliably 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 shit.
> Chronic jamming
 problems, most of which require partial disassembly (that's
> fun in the middle 
of a firefight).

>
> 3) The M9 Beretta 9 mm:
 Mixed bag. Good gun, performs well in
> desert environment; but they all hate
 the 9 mm cartridge. The use of
> handguns for self-defense is actually fairly
common.. Same old story on the 9
> mm: Bad guys hit multiple times and still in 
the fight.
>
> 4) Mossberg 12 ga.. 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:
 Thumbs way, way up. "Ma Deuce"
> is still worth her considerable 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 around 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 guys. 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. It is 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 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 shit 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 bullshit about the "old"
> body armor making our guys vulnerable to the 
IED's 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 Surefire's, 
and the troops love 'em. Invaluable for night urban
> operations. Jordan
 carried a $34 Surefire G2 on a neck lanyard and loved
> it. I can’t help but 
notice 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) Mostly AK47'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 shit. Undisciplined "spray and pray" type fire. However,
> they 
are seeing more and more precision weapons, especially sniper rifles.
> (Iran,
 again)
>
> 2) The RPG: 
Probably the infantry weapon most feared by our guys.
> Simple, reliable and
 as common as dogshit. 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. A 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 readymade IED's 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 cinder blocks 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
> NCO's 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.




>
> Fun fact: 
Captured enemy 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.

>
> 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
Google Earth 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?
>
> 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 various "sacrifice
> squads."
>
> Most, however, are hardcore
 terrorists from all the usual suspects
> (Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas etc.).
 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 
80's. 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 occur. They will
> literally 
sacrifice 8-10 man teams in suicide squads by sending them
> screaming and
 firing AK's and RPG's 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-18's,
 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 facts:
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 shit. The 
new strategy is just 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
> inflicting 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 influence 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 who otherwise don't give a
> shit about 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 Iraqi's 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 use of suicide bombers, en masse, against 
the
> civilian population was a serious tactical mistake. Many Iraqi's were

> galvanized and the caliber of recruits in the Army and the police forces
> went 
right up, along with their motivation. It also led to an exponential

> increase in good intel because the Iraqi's are sick of the insurgent
> attacks
 against civilians. The Kurds are solidly pro-American and fearless
> fighters.


>
> Morale:
 According to Jordan, morale among our guys is very high.
> They not only
 believe that 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 shit 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, is that 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, that's it, hope you found it interesting.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. Get it now.
>
>
> HERE IS NEWS THAT YOU WILL NEVER SEE IN THE US MEDIA AND YOU DON'T
> HAVE TO PLOW THROUGH ADVERTISING? THESE ARE MY HEROS, STRAIGHT OUT FACTS,
> NO UPPER EAST SIDE SPIN, JUST WHAT IT'S LIKE.
>
>
> This email from a Marine who's in Iraq. No politics here; just a
> Marine with
 a bird's eye view opinion:



>
> US Weapons:
>
> 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 lack the 
ability to mount the various optical
> gun sights and weapons lights on the
 pica tinny rails, but the weapon
> itself is not great in a desert environment.
They all hate the 556 mm (..223)
> round. Poor penetration on the cinder block 
structure common over there and
> even torso hits can't be reliably 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 shit.
> Chronic jamming
 problems, most of which require partial disassembly (that's
> fun in the middle 
of a firefight).

>
> 3) The M9 Beretta 9 mm:
 Mixed bag. Good gun, performs well in
> desert environment; but they all hate
 the 9 mm cartridge. The use of
> handguns for self-defense is actually fairly
common.. Same old story on the 9
> mm: Bad guys hit multiple times and still in 
the fight.
>
> 4) Mossberg 12 ga.. 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:
 Thumbs way, way up. "Ma Deuce"
> is still worth her considerable 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 around 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 guys. 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. It is 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 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 shit 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 bullshit about the "old"
> body armor making our guys vulnerable to the 
IED's 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 Surefire's, 
and the troops love 'em. Invaluable for night urban
> operations. Jordan
 carried a $34 Surefire G2 on a neck lanyard and loved
> it. I can’t help but 
notice 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) Mostly AK47'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 shit. Undisciplined "spray and pray" type fire. However,
> they 
are seeing more and more precision weapons, especially sniper rifles.
> (Iran,
 again)
>
> 2) The RPG: 
Probably the infantry weapon most feared by our guys.
> Simple, reliable and
 as common as dogshit. 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. A 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 readymade IED's 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 cinder blocks 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
> NCO's 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.




>
> Fun fact: 
Captured enemy 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.

>
> 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
Google Earth 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?
>
> 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 various "sacrifice
> squads."
>
> Most, however, are hardcore
 terrorists from all the usual suspects
> (Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas etc.).
 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 
80's. 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 occur. They will
> literally 
sacrifice 8-10 man teams in suicide squads by sending them
> screaming and
 firing AK's and RPG's 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-18's,
 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 facts:
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 shit. The 
new strategy is just 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
> inflicting 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 influence 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 who otherwise don't give a
> shit about 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 Iraqi's 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 use of suicide bombers, en masse, against 
the
> civilian population was a serious tactical mistake. Many Iraqi's were

> galvanized and the caliber of recruits in the Army and the police forces
> went 
right up, along with their motivation. It also led to an exponential

> increase in good intel because the Iraqi's are sick of the insurgent
> attacks
 against civilians. The Kurds are solidly pro-American and fearless
> fighters.


>
> Morale:
 According to Jordan, morale among our guys is very high.
> They not only
 believe that 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 shit 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, is that 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, that's it, hope you found it interesting.
>
>
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