Why The Taliban Suck At Shooting

Data showed that while the Taliban can be canny and brave in combat their rifle fire is often remarkably ineffective.

The factors at play:

  1. Limited knowledge of marksmanship fundamentals
  2. A frequent reliance on automatic fire from assault rifles
  3. The poor condition of many of those rifles
  4. Old and mismatched ammunition that is also in poor condition
  5. Widespread eye problems and uncorrected vision
  6. The difficulties faced by a scattered force in organizing quality training

Full story at NY Times – HERE

NOTE: In the Taliban picture I used, I thought it was pretty hilarious how the guy 2nd from the end is armed with a crock pot.  :P


Comments

22 responses to “Why The Taliban Suck At Shooting”

  1. I wish I could find links to a couple videos I have seen, but I wouldnt know where to start to look. But I have seen a few Taliban produced vids where they show IED’s being manufactured then used. That type of crock pot was used as the container for the explosives and electronics.

    1. Admin (Mike) Avatar
      Admin (Mike)

      Yikes, I guess that crock pot is more dangerous than it looks!

      1. You see he’s got some sort of radio in his hand. Maybe it’s just a walkie-talkie, maybe it’s a remote detonator. Either way, if facing these guys it might be a good idea to try to shoot that crock pot. A good shot to that thing (if it’s filled with explosives, of course) might take out that entire crew!

        1. Admin (Mike) Avatar
          Admin (Mike)

          Good call.

  2. It blends in pretty damn well to. Any work crew of locals brings their own cook along to make lunch for the crew, usually using a pressure cooker quite similar.

    1. Admin (Mike) Avatar
      Admin (Mike)

      He should carry some spoons or something along with it to further disguise its real use. :P

  3. I had the same first impression that you had, Mike. I saw the stew pot and thought “Oh, how nice. That one dude brought lunch for the other terrorists…”

    I never would have thought about IEDs if Moi and Josh hadn’t pointed it out. Guess that’s part of the reason they are so deadly. They blend in as ordinary until its too late.

    1. Admin (Mike) Avatar
      Admin (Mike)

      I’ll never look at a crock pot the same way again.

  4. I was going to point out it’s likely an IED as well, I guess I’m late to the party. :P

    The scary thing is I didn’t even notice it until Mike pointed it out in the post…

    1. Admin (Mike) Avatar
      Admin (Mike)

      I wonder how many of those guys die every year because of negligent discharges. It seems the norm to walk around with their fingers on the triggers etc..

      1. That would be interesting. The Afghan good guys have a problem with negligent discharges, and our guys aren’t immune:

        http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=23620

        1. Admin (Mike) Avatar
          Admin (Mike)

          Interesting article. I wonder what the figures are like for 2009-2010?

          1. I guess I didn’t even pay attention and realize how old that one was. Here was another I had found also.

            http://www.dvidshub.net/?script=news/news_show.php&id=12275

            I got a kick out of this article because it talks about the division sergeant major, Tommy Capel, directing everyone to train to prevent negligent discharges. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s had a few in his day! Before becoming division SGM, he had been my Bn SGM, and I once saw him jump into the desert at NTC on a yellow light. He was in the door on a C-17 and the jump light turned yellow, and out he went. Apparently he forgot that a C-17 has a “get ready” yellow light, not just red and green like a C-130! That would have put him a mile away (I think it’s a 30 second yellow) from the drop zone… I have no idea where he ended up!

            1. Admin (Mike) Avatar
              Admin (Mike)

              That would have put him a mile away from the drop zone… I have no idea where he ended up!

              Ahahahah awesome

  5. You should taste the horrorable shit my wife has done with a crock pot!!

    1. Admin (Mike) Avatar
      Admin (Mike)

      LOL

    2. Well that’s the first problem, right there. Crock pots are for cooking in not shitting in!

      1. LOL, too funny!

  6. Eightbyte Avatar
    Eightbyte

    I’ve always noticed in a lot of films and such, every terrorist seems like they sit there and fire and never hit anything. Now I know why, lol.

  7. SHORT STORY DEMONSTRATITNG THE DANGER OF CROCKPOTS ON THE BATTLEFIELD:
    Talib #1 enters the room from the kitchen: “Hey! You guys hungry? I’m starving since I got back from patrol so I just put a pot of rice on the stove…”
    Talibs #2: “Oh shit yeah I’m hungry. First off, give me a hand to finish wiring up that bomb I was making, its on the bench in the kitche….Oh Shit!” (drops to knees) “ALLAH HU AK..” BOOOOOOOM! -……….

    1. Admin (Mike) Avatar
      Admin (Mike)

      hahaha

  8. I have read stories about Iraqi troops early on being taught to shoot by US troops saying “Inshallah” (God Willing) when they pulled the trigger while looking over the sights….I can’t believe the base marksmanship is a whole lot different on the other side of the playground….