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SNIPERS vs SHOOTERS

© Dennis Morehouse

The recent 'sniping' attacks in the Washington D.C. area have a lot of people talking about the abilities this so called expert has displayed. I say 'so called' expert, because, like most things that people really don't understand, they tend to inflate the criminal's abilities regardless of evidence to the contrary.

In the strictest sense of the word and according to the definition in Webster's New World Dictionary, sniping is "shooting at individuals from a hidden position." This is the ONLY claim that these individuals have to be snipers. None of their actions qualify them to be considered as actual snipers, because all legitimate snipers meet much higher standards than these characters do, in almost any area you care to name.

First of all, when legitimate military or police snipers select targets, they don't pick defenseless people who present no threat to anyone. Their targets are enemy or criminal elements who are a threat of some sort.

Secondly, because that type of target IS a threat, snipers don't normally sneak up close to ensure accuracy. They are trained to be accurate at longer distances because return fire in a war zone is usually quick and overwhelming. Police snipers may work in close, but again, they are putting themselves in harm's way when they do their job. Their targets can, and do, fight back. The shooters back east knew there was virtually no risk to them when they went out to kill because the police can't be everywhere and only a few civilians in that area go armed on a regular basis.

A sniper is assumed to be a pretty fair shot. How good were these guys? The longest shot has been reported at somewhere between 100 and 175 yards. This is not a long distance for a shot when the target is in the open, unsuspecting, not trying to evade the shooter. It's an easy shot. Any shooter with any skill wouldn't even really need to brace his weapon to make a shot at these distances. These people didn't display any particular skill in the actual shooting.

A sniper is discriminating in his choice of targets, or his superiors are discriminating in their choice of targets. Choosing targets that don't improve your position is nothing more than risking everything you have for no gain. These guys accomplished nothing to improve their lives or their cause by the murders they committed. They didn't improve their personal safety, or income, or condition of living. If their goal was to create terror, they didn't even really succeed in that. Though a lot of people may have been scared, that ended when the shooters were caught. Their net effect on the world was nearly zero. The victims and their families are tragically injured by the attacks, but that doesn't do the shooters' cause any good and does not advance whatever their cause was.

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