Observations on insurgent videos...

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   I'm sure most of you have heard the news reports about sniper attacks in Iraq becoming an increasing threat, mainly due to a video that was released by the insurgent media. It's an edited propaganda peice so you can't take it at face value. However there are definatly lessons to be learned here.
The insurgents are very aware of how to use the media against us. they are better propagandists that we are. This video was all over the net before the major news outlets caught on due to it's shocking content. It definatly delivers the desired effect of making the viewer cringe. it's frustrating to see someone get shot while out interacting with Iraqi children and trying to win hearts and minds. Still, the way it's edited gives clues as to what the insurgents are hiding. For one thing, the camera cuts away in many of the cases almost immediatly after the shot. Some of the body armor out there now is pretty good, and many of these shots are from long distances, so the bullets aren't moving all that fast and they need to aim for center mass. I doubt all of the soldiers hit in these videos were killed, and in some cases, even hit squarley. Same is true of the roadside bomb clips in the video, they cut away right after the explosion and it's impossible to tell if the actually disabled a vehicle. There are plenty of vidioes out there showing vehicles hauling ass right through bombings. The timing of this video along with the increased level of violence also shows that they are trying to effect the outcome of our elections.
As for tactical lessons, the snipers seem to usually target lone soldiers who are usually looking the other way. If you aren't alone and look alert you're probably in better shape. In one video a soldier had his helmet off and was targeted as he was trying to put it back on. Again, they go for the most vulnerable target. Keeping your kevlar on at all times is a great idea. Also, from the news report last night I noticed that in a picture of a soldier killed by a sniper, he was wearing one of the new helmets the army issues. These are almst twice as strong as the older ones and can stop a 7.62mm AK round, which would probably still knock you the hell out. The problem with these helmets is that they're designed for a different kind of fighting. Light, mobile stuff, so the back of your neck and ears are exposed for better mobility and hearing. It's defintly not a good choice for standing around gaurding  checkpoint. It's a bad idea to push this gear on all infantry. I say give it to special ops guys on missions where they need it. The marines seem to have a better approach to this, using the stronger kevlar with the old pattern helmet with more coverage. This should definatly help survivability especially with shrapnel.
The faster we learn from this stuff the better. We might as well use the information they give us against them.