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 Aks and RPGs
directly at our bases just to probe the defenses. They get mowed down like
grass every time. ( see the M2 and M240 above). Jordans 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 thats the end of that more often than not. These hole-ups are
referred to as Alpha Whiskey Romeos (Allahs Waiting Room). We have the laser
guided ground-air thing down to a science. The fast movers, mostly Marine
F-18s, 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 fact: The enemy death toll is
supposedly between 45-50 thousand. That is why were seeing less and less
infantry attacks and more IED, suicide bomber ****. The new strategy is
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 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 cant 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 **** 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 Iraqis are a mixed bag. Some fight well, others aren't worth a ****.
Most do okay with American support. Finding leaders is hard, but they are
getting better. It is widely viewed that Zarqawis use of suicide bombers, en
masse, against the civilian population was a serious tactical mistake. Many
Iraqis were galvanized and the caliber of recruits in the Army and the
police forces went up, along with their motivation. It also led to an
exponential increase in good intel because the Iraqis are sick of the
insurgent attacks against civilians. The Kurds are solidly pro-American and
fearless fighters.
According to Jordan, morale among our guys is very high. They not only
believe 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 **** 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, 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 cant stand the thought of Iraq
being an American ally (with, of course, permanent US bases there).
From my cousin in Iraq
