|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
April 22nd,
2007 - Juba the Sniper Legend Haunting Troops in Iraq |
|
Juba the Sniper Legend Haunting
Troops in Iraq By Monte Morin Stars and Stripes April 22, 2007 Baghdad - In a country where
rumors exist as fact, and in a war where initial reports are often wrong,
there seemed to be little stopping the legend of Juba the Sniper. Islamic militant Web sites,
comics, bootleg videos and songs had, for almost two years, touted the deadly
prowess of the “Qannas Baghdad,” the apocryphal insurgent sniper credited
with killing scores - some say hundreds - of U.S. and Iraqi troops in every
quarter of Iraq’s capital. Like a wartime boogeyman,
Juba had twice been reported captured, only to spring up again, Freddie
Krueger-style, in Jihadist propaganda and U.S. military patrol briefings. “Yes, he is real,” insisted
“Bobbie,” an Iraqi interpreter who has worked with U.S. troops in Baghdad for
two years. (Iraqi interpreters working for U.S. forces often do not give
their real names for fear of reprisal from insurgents.) “He’s killed many people. He
was trained during the time of Saddam. He can shoot me when I’m walking; he
can shoot me when I’m running; he can shoot me in a vehicle. He is very
good.” In the last several months
however, tales of Juba have all but vanished. To the believers, Juba was
killed or captured. To those who never believed the tales, the explanation is
that Juba was a fad that ran its course. “It’s kind of lost its
flavor,” Cable News Network correspondent Michael Ware said of the myth. “It
really wasn’t more than an Internet legend to begin with.” While spokesmen for the U.S.
military have long denied the existence of Juba, rumors had nonetheless
filtered down to ground troops. For them, the tales only exacerbated a very
real threat. By some accounts, Juba cruised the capitol’s streets tucked in
the trunk of an auto, like the mysterious D.C.-area sniper of 2002, firing at
victims through openings in the trunk. In others, the
Dragunov-toting Juba often left a taunting calling card proclaiming, “What
has been taken in blood cannot be regained except by blood - The Baghdad
Sniper.” Skeptics held that Juba was
not one, or even several snipers. Instead, he was the product of hype and
fear on the part of U.S. soldiers, as well as enemy propagandists who hope to
sap the troops’ morale. “Juba the Sniper? He’s a
product of the U.S. military,” said Capt. Brendan Hobbs, 31, of Tampa, Fla.,
commander of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment. “We’ve built
up this myth ourselves.” Hobbs, whose company is part
of the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, likens the Juba legend to those
rumors circulated in the early months of the war of crack Chechen snipers
lurking throughout the country. To be sure, insurgent
snipers have exacted a toll on U.S. and Iraqi troops from Anbar province to
Baghdad. After a relatively peaceful
start to the Baghdad security plan - a campaign aimed at quelling the
ages-old animosity between Shiite and Sunni Muslims here - snipers have
re-emerged as a deadly presence. In New Baghdad, a sprawling
collection of predominantly Shiite neighborhoods bordering the Mahdi Army
stronghold of Sadr City, sniper fire recently killed two U.S. soldiers in as
many days. “Two soldiers killed by a
sniper in two consecutive days - that’s almost unheard of,” said an officer
with the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd
Infantry Division. “You’ve got to do the pee-pee dance when you’re out there
now. You’re always moving.” In the 9 Nissan Security District
of New Baghdad, where attacks and murders had dropped by an incredible 70
percent during the first two months of the security plan, commanders say they
are encouraged by the willingness of residents here to share information with
soldiers who have moved into neighborhood combat outposts. But with the recent sniper
deaths, as well as an increase in attacks by explosively formed projectiles,
or EFPs, troops are saying that the honeymoon is over. At the colorfully named
Cobra Cabana - a deserted potato snack factory that now serves as a combat
outpost in New Baghdad - soldiers and officers said they were anticipating a
violent April, now that radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has renounced an
earlier call for followers to lay down arms. And with that violence, a
possible return of Juba the Sniper. “There are new films showing
that the Baghdad Sniper’s taking two shots now,” said Capt. Joseph Rosen, 30
of Leesville, La., commander of Company C, 1-8 Cav. “He hits someone, then he
hits the first responder too.” As Rosen’s troops busily
fortified the cavernous factory recently, soldiers speculated on the sniper
threat. Juba or no Juba, they said they plan to keep their heads down. “I know there’s one sniper
with [a lot] of kills,” said Staff Sgt. Maxwell Davis, 30, of Marfa, Texas.
“I think the guys out here aren’t really snipers. They’re more like marksmen.
They’re watching us, and that’s all I’m gonna say.” External link: http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52845&archive=true |