Issues Under Fire: Understanding The Israeli Sniper

Issues Under Fire: Understanding The Israeli Sniper

As predicted, Friday last was the scene of another bloodbath at the border between the Gaza Strip and the State of Israel. In fact, it's this second lopsided confrontation that inspired this companion piece to last Friday's post and podcast. And while the number of dead and wounded are still being calculated, one can be sure, as per usual, all of the dead and wounded were among the people of Gaza. It was a turkey shoot. With IDF snipers positioned on hilltops obeying orders to fire live rounds into crowds of predominately unarmed protestors, I was moved to understand the mindset of those who pulled the triggers. I was determined to understand how the shooters processed their actions after the shooting stopped. I wondered if there were any second thoughts or regrets. I wanted to know, so I gave it some thought.

Since my thought process generally starts with a series of questions, the first was, what does it take to be a sniper? Considering the job calls for taking the life of someone who presents no imminent threat to him or her, one would have to presume the sniper is a natural born killer. Let's face it, in the theater of war, when a sniper takes aim through the rifle sight, they're not targeting White Tail deer for dinner. They're preparing to put a bullet through the brain of a human being. They know when they take the shot, milliseconds later, a body will fall, bloodied and lifeless. And the target? Well, it has no time to run, or no time to take cover, because the target rarely knows it's a target. Although I suppose, the people of Gaza should know the risks by now, but that's a story for another day. So, let's move on.

Since this kind of work takes a special kind of person (a natural born killer if I may be permitted to continue using the term), I wondered how someone knows if they have what it takes to take a human life before they've done it? And keep in mind, I'm not discussing the life of someone who's trying to take the sniper's life, the life of a loved one or a friend of the sniper's, but simply someone the sniper's been ordered to kill. A target far away, that for all the sniper knows, who has done no harm or wrong. That said, I wondered if there are sniper schools someplace in the world where individuals can shoot at real live human targets just to see if they've got the right stuff! How else could you find out? Perhaps the real life and death sniper schools weed out the best from the rest by who shows up for day two of training. Perhaps, those who have a sleepless first night are recommended for other duties.

So, if you agree with me so far, you'd be within reason to presume, those who qualify to be snipers are those who don't wonder much about the people they've been ordered to kill. These hotshot shooters don't consider if their bloodied, lifeless kills could've been a friendly person, a funny person, a smart person, or just a really good person. And although the sniper's bloodied lifeless kill could've been the life of the party, that possibility won't figure into this life and death equation. To the sniper, a target is a target and nothing more. Besides, to the sniper, they're just following orders. And, in the theater of war, orders are orders. You've heard the old adage, "Ours is not to reason why ours is to do or die." Perhaps that's how snipers sleep peacefully at night.

Still, orders or not, I couldn't stop wondering if years after the fact, do snipers ever consider the concept of Karma? Do some of them ever awaken in the middle of the night rethinking their deadly decision? Do they see the faces of those they've killed in their dreams? Do they ever wonder if the old adage of "What goes around comes around", is true? Do they ever consider the possibility of Karmic forces visiting them someday? Or, do they believe so firmly in their God, their country and military's leadership that their actions are morally justified? Or do they believe war is Hell and somebody has to do the Devil's work? If so, I wondered if the young Israeli snipers have seen, heard or read about the life and death of America's most celebrated sniper? Hollywood even made a movie about him.Chris Kyle was his name. 

American Sniper was the name of the movie. Clint Eastwood directed the Academy Award-nominated film starring Bradley Cooper. Mr. Kyle was the famed Navy SEAL credited with most confirmed kills (160) in American military history. I say was, because Mr. Kyle is dead. As the old adage goes, "he who lives by the sword dies by the sword". However, since we're talking guns, that's how Mr. Kyle died. And as fate or Karma would have it, Mr. Kyle was killed with his own gun. Perhaps Karmic forces did play a poetic role in Mr. Kyle's demise, since he was killed, along with a friend on a Texas shooting range, by another soldier. Hard to believe? Not really. Not really at all, for those who believe in the grand scheme of things. 

Bottom line: As an objective observer for decades of unmitigated violence between the Israeli government and the Palestinian people, I've come to understand why the Palestinian people are so willing to give their lives for what they believe in. However, after all these years, I've yet to understand why the Israeli government is so willing to take Palestinian lives for what they believe in. So, this Monday morning, on one side of the border, Palestinian dead are mourned as martyrs. On the other side of the border, Israeli snipers are hailed as heroes. And the saddest part of this never-ending saga is, next Friday will bring another fresh episode of "Kill and be Killed" to ponder. Podcast below.