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American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

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230/439<br />

Thwarted kidnapping Suicide bombers who’d lost their nerve<br />

No. Come to find out, these were two friends of the vice president.<br />

He’d forgotten to tell us about them.<br />

He wasn’t too pleased. My command wasn’t too pleased, either. I<br />

got fired from my PSD job, which wouldn’t have been all that bad except<br />

that I then had to spend the next week sitting in the Green Zone<br />

doing nothing.<br />

My platoon leadership tried to get me back for some DAs. But the<br />

head shed had decided to stick it to me a bit, and kept me twiddling<br />

my thumbs. That is the worst possible torture for a SEAL—missing out<br />

on the action.<br />

Luckily, they didn’t hang on to me for too long.<br />

HAIFA STREET<br />

In December 2005, Iraq geared up for national elections, its first since<br />

the fall of Saddam—and the first free and fair ones the country had<br />

ever held. The insurgency was doing everything it could to stop them.<br />

Election officials were being kidnapped left and right. Others were executed<br />

in the streets.<br />

Talk about your negative campaigning.<br />

Haifa Street in Baghdad was a particularly dangerous place. After<br />

three election officials were killed there, the Army put together a plan<br />

to protect officials in the area.<br />

The strategy called for snipers to do overwatches.<br />

I was a sniper. I was available. I didn’t even have to raise my hand.<br />

I joined an Army unit from the Arkansas National Guard, a great<br />

bunch of good ol’ boys, warriors all.

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