American Sniper

For Chris Kyle, combat in Iraq was morally unambiguous. His enemies had little regard for law, order, or human life, and were propelled into combat by influences that were themselves noxious: many of the insurgents used a corrupted and debased version of Islam as an excuse for their actions, and a number of them used drugs to prepare for battle. In sharp contrast, Chris and the other Americans were representatives of law, order, and humanitarian decency. They valued the lives of innocent civilians, and killed only to rid Iraq of those who were threats to Iraqi society—and to the Americans themselves.

Chris does not see his achievements as a sniper as signs of vastly superior skill. Instead, he attributes his high kill count to factors that were in many cases beyond his control, including the good luck of being constantly in combat and constantly in target-rich environments. Although much of a sniper’s job involves waiting and watching, Chris often found himself in situations that presented multiple targets in quick succession; these gave him the opportunity to eliminate enemy after enemy, becoming a sniper legend.