Pentagon Urges U.S. Snipers To Use 'Bait' To Kill Iraq Insurgents

Washington Post:

A Pentagon group has encouraged some U.S. military snipers in Iraq to target suspected insurgents by scattering pieces of "bait," such as detonation cords, plastic explosives and ammunition, and then killing Iraqis who pick up the items, according to military court documents.

The classified program was described in investigative documents related to recently filed murder charges against three snipers who are accused of planting evidence on Iraqis they killed.

"Baiting is putting an object out there that we know they will use, with the intention of destroying the enemy," Capt. Matthew P. Didier, the leader of an elite sniper scout platoon attached to the 1st Battalion of the 501st Infantry Regiment, said in a sworn statement. "Basically, we would put an item out there and watch it. If someone found the item, picked it up and attempted to leave with the item, we would engage the individual as I saw this as a sign they would use the item against U.S. Forces."

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[bottomdwellah]

02:59 PM on 09/25/2007

Wow, what an idea! Let me see, Mickey Mouse, rubber duckies, soccer balls, sneakers, cans of food. These are some of the items that the "bait" can be attached to! Would it not be easier just to put a land mine under these? That way the snipers could be somewhere else, like back at home with their families! Sounds like a damn episode of "Road Runner" ACME Explosive Devices anybody? Umm, duhhhhh. W himself probably came up with this one. Things have not been going that well in Iraq so he has decided that it is time he got involved personally!

[ornery]

12:14 PM on 09/25/2007

If you want to see who the people were who built America, watch the World War II documentary on PBS.

Every family in America had someone in the service. Including President Roosevelt.

There was a word no one remembers today:

Sacrifice.

[jaschrod]

11:36 AM on 09/25/2007

Absolutely ludicrous, anybody could be picking this stuff up out of curiosity.. Unbelievable.

[MikeDu]

11:30 AM on 09/25/2007

Iraq has become a Mad Max movie set, I hear children have stopped begging U.S. soldiers for candy and started begging for water. Leave pretty much anythiing out and eventually someone will come nosing about to see if its something he could use/sell/eat. Bang - he's dead. The C.O. claims another 'insurgent' killed, the General claims another 'terrorist' killed, and the president claims another 'al Qaida' killed.

[ajax2]

11:08 AM on 09/25/2007

A fat NeoCon with green gills makes an excellent lure. It has a 100% success rate with lobbyists.

[Firaxis]

11:06 AM on 09/25/2007

Again classified information comes out. This time because some soldiers were on trial for doing their jobs.

Thanks Washington Post for showing your "support" for the troops.

BTW - Is that drunk John Murtha going to apologize to the Haditha Marines being exonerated?

[rwe]

11:10 AM on 09/25/2007

He does not have the time with his earmarks. up until Murtha there were no ex Marines...Baby Blue John? What would your comments be if Wes Clark Or Bill or Hillary or Dick would suport this? Oh yeah they do.

[WilliamWallace]

09:37 AM on 09/25/2007

The dirty war just gets dirtier.

[savas]

08:52 AM on 09/25/2007

General Bait-raeus is a war criminal if he approved this.

[DAWK]

04:12 AM on 09/25/2007

WARNING: CAUSTIC SATIRE_INCOMMING.
THE WORD 'PORN' IS WHAT LAWMAKER-REPUGS USE AS THE DESCRIPTION OF 'EVIL' SEXUAL ACTS,ILLEGAL IN MOST PUGS PLACES,HENCE ....'LAWS' ARE APPROVED TO STAMP OUT ANY 'PORN' THAT MIGHT OFFEND THE PUBLIC.
BUT FOLKS,REALIZE...THAT BUSH'S WAR FOR OIL IS MORE,SAY...TEN THOUSAND TIMES 'MORE' PORNAGRAPHIC,VIA MINDLESS BLOODSHED-TACTICS,LIKE THE ABOVE HEADLINE.
WITH 'PENTAGON' APPROVAL,OUR TROOPS ARE 'ALLOWED-ECOURAGED' BY THE PENTAGOON BRASS...TO 'BAIT' THE ENEMY COMBANTANTS??
BUSH'S WAR GETS MORE OBSCENE AND BRUTAL - MINDLESS EVERY DAY,SO NOW COMMITH-MORE IDIOT'GAMES',AS IF THESE WERE MAKE-BELIEVE VIDEO GAMES ARE PRESENTED TO HONERABLE AMERICANS,AS 'O.K.' FOR OUR SNIPER TROOPS TO 'SHOOT' TO KILL,WITHOUT ANY REASON,LESS IT BE.....ANOTHER HUMAN TAKING THE BAIT?
DOES ANYONE SEE HOW THE MIND OF GEORGE BUSH HAS MADE AMERICANS LOOK LIKE THE WORST 'GOONS' ON EARTH,AS OUR TROOPS 'OBEY' THIS PENTAGON-BRASS' SNIPER-O.K. TO-SHOOT BULLSHIT?
HEY,HERES SOME MORE 'BAIT' IDEAS: WHY NOT SIMPLY USE A BUNDLE OF CASH,LAYING THERE,SINCE INSURGENTS CAN JUST USE THE CASH FOR ANYTHING,AND JUST LIKE A CHRISTMAS 'CASH GIFT CARD',INSTEAD OF AN ACTUAL PRESENT,OUR SNIPERS PLANT THE MONEY AND SHOOT ANYONE,BECAUSE THE PENTAGOON-BRASS,SAID IT WAS...'O.K.'!
IS THIS NOT THE MOST DESPERATE IDEA-EVER? USING OUR SNIPERS FOR A BIGGER 'TOLL' OF DEAD INSURGENTS,SO BUSH CAN USE IT TO 'MEASURE' PROGRESS IN IRAQ?
THIS WAR HAS GOT TO END,BECAUSE THE HORRORS ARE NOW GETTING SO OBSCENE,THAT IT IS PORNAGRAPHICLY INSANE ,AND BUSH IS 'FUCKING'ALL OF HUMANITY...IN THE PUBLIC'S EYES,....AND WE-NOW, KNOW WHO THE WAR CRIMINALS REALLY-ARE.

[ornery]

12:08 PM on 09/25/2007

That sans-serif typeface is really hard to read.

PARTICULARY IN ALL CAPITALS.

[Ping]

01:20 AM on 09/25/2007

This is just another example of why we are losing the war. Why are the best snipers in the U.S. military being used to kill scavengers? This is really pathetic.

[AnnArky]

01:14 AM on 09/25/2007

And we all know how stupid the Iraqi "insurgents" are, that's why we're winning.

Support the troops, tell them it's time to stop killing people for oil, and come home.

[TJTelecaster]

12:51 AM on 09/25/2007

Whatever will turn the maximum amount of Iraqi's against us..!

I guess Betrayus it is..!

The logic of this tactic is non existent..

Just because some one picks something up they are then an insurgent..?

Sounds more like target practice..using Iraqis to me..!

Our Generals who have run this war, are really shit, really really shit..!

They let all those ammo dumps get plundered..!

They loose track of 190,000 weapons, they have fucked up one thing after another to many screw ups to list..

[amanda85]

11:35 PM on 09/24/2007

Wow. This is straight from a manual on fighting the Soviet resistance in the Ukraine, provided to members of the SS-Sonderbataillon Dirlewanger in 1943. The bastards killed thousands of women and children scouring the streets for anything they could use or eat.
We discussed this in class not long ago, and there is a reference in this article:

http://mondediplo.com/2007/08/09ukraine

[loki]

11:30 PM on 09/24/2007

So whats happened to Blackwater? Wasnt that their job? Really though, how did they drop out of sight so quickly? Just because they are Bush and his buddies private army that they could even use against the US if need be? Id be curious to know if HP is going to actually follow a story, or is she just about shock and awh headlines.

[infideltexan]

11:25 PM on 09/24/2007

Cool....you mean like my gamefeeder on my ranch?