Again, nice points! Hats off to you of late, both Dick and KOTF! If I could rep you both, I would.
As for the slieight of hand, I hope you're right. I also hope that our own troops haven't forgotten their own lessons, and the fact that they too can use such tactics. I wouldn't dismiss the idea that it's what's drawn out these snipers in the first place. If I were a commander, it would make sense to use "insurgent friendly" neighborhoods to do just that. Get them to stick their heads out, and then force them to use up some of their most expensive resources and best-trained people falling for the bait...
I know that our troops are some of the finest, bravest, best-trained fighting men and women anywhere. The press gives them a bum rap at times, and paints them as some massive, bumbling force that's at the mercy of any sneaky or underhanded tactic our enemy attempts, but the facts are a lot different. Our commanders have run some damned impressive deception ops (look into the two that faked Saddam's troops into the North and West of Iraq while we swarmed up from the South), and they still have a good grasp of how to run a good head fake. We won't hear about them for a few years, I'm sure, but I have faith that our commanders and troops know how to fight a war.
Now if we can just get the politicos to let them...
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