With an anti-tank rocket launcher strapped to his back, U.S. Marine Corp. Scott R. Gibson, 22, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment's Kilo Company aims an M-16 rifle to provide cover as his platoon searches a building for weapons caches Tuesday April 4, 2006 in Ramadi, 115 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq. In an insurgent-plagued city beset by roadside bombs, rocket-fire _ and, Marines here say, the worst sniper threat on the planet _ standing still is rarely an option.(AP Photo/Todd Pitman)U.S. Soldiers fire on insurgent positions from a rooftop, Saturday, April 22, 2006 in Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi forces fought an hour-long gunbattle with insurgents Saturday in Ramadi, firing automatic weapons from rooftops at small guerrilla teams maneuvering around them in alleyways and an abandoned fairground. U.S. commanders said four insurgents were killed and two Iraqi soldiers wounded in the gunfight.(AP Photo Todd/Pitman)A U.S. soldier runs down a street as smoke grenades cover his path, during sporadic shooting ahead of a gunbattle with insurgents Saturday April 22, 2006 in Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi forces fought an hour-long gunbattle with insurgents Saturday in Ramadi, firing automatic weapons from rooftops at small guerrilla teams maneuvering around them in alleyways and an abandoned fairground. U.S. commanders said four insurgents were killed and two Iraqi soldiers wounded in the gunfight.(AP Photo Todd/Pitman)US Marines attached to the 7th Iraqi Army, Military Transition Team, Team 2, conduct sporadic vehicle checkpoints during a mission with Iraqi Army soldiers from the MP Company, December 1, 2006, in Ar Ramadi. (M. Scott Mahaskey/ Army Times Publishing Co.)U.S and Iraqi soldiers crouch on a road during a street battle as insurgent gunfire echoes around them Saturday April 22, 2006 in Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi forces fought an hour-long gun battle with insurgents Saturday in Ramadi, firing automatic weapons from rooftops at small guerrilla teams maneuvering around them in alleyways and an abandoned fairground. U.S. commanders said four insurgents were killed and two Iraqi soldiers wounded in the gunfight. (AP Photo/Todd Pitman)This photo released by the US Department of Defence (DOD) 13 September 2006 shows a US Army soldier preparing to exit a M2 Bradley fighting vehicle at Camp Ar Ramadi following a raid in the Tameem district of Ramadi 03 September 2006. The US Soldier is assigned to Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division. AFP PHOTO/HO/Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock
(Photo credit should read TSGT JEREMY LOCK/AFP/Getty Images)U.S. Marine Cpl. Brad Bruce, center, of LaPorte, Ind., Cpl. Tyler Warndorf, right, of Hebron, Ky., and a translator, study a map before a patrol, in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's volatile, western Anbar province, Sunday, June 25, 2006. While the number of U.S. troops stationed elsewhere in Iraq is expected to decline by the end of 2007, U.S. commanders are reportedly not expected to significantly reduce the number of American troops stationed in Anbar province. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)US Marines attached to the 7th Iraqi Army, Military Transition Team, Team 2, conduct sporadic vehicle checkpoints during a mission with Iraqi Army soldiers from the MP Company, December 1, 2006, in Ar Ramadi. (M. Scott Mahaskey/ Army Times Publishing Co.)U.S. Marines study an aerial photograph during a night patrol in Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, late Thursday June 29, 2006. Elsewhere, U.S. and Iraqi troops clashed with gunmen northeast of Baghdad after armed Shiites attacked a convoy of Sunni villagers in retaliation for a suicide attack. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)U.S. Army Spc. Caleb Joye, of Manning, South Carolina, smokes a cigarette while resting on the roof of a house in Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 19, 2006. Hundreds of U.S. and Iraqi troops pushed into an eastern section of Ramadi, one of Iraq's most violent cities, the latest step in a campaign to gradually bolster their presence in city neighborhoods that for months have largely been under insurgent control. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)A U.S. Marine from the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment's Kilo Company scans rooftops for insurgents during a patrol in Ramadi, Iraq on Wednesday, April 5, 2006. Reining in Ramadi, through arms or persuasion, could be the toughest challenge for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's new government. Al-Maliki has promised to use "maximum force" when needed. But three years of U.S. military presence, with nearly constant patrols and sweeps, hasn't done it. (AP Photo/Todd Pitman)** FILE ** A U.S. Army Spc. Anthony Black, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who serves in the 101st Airborne Division, searches for a sniper who fired on an Iraqi home used as an outpost in Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, June 20, 2006. A problem since the start of the war, soldiers and senior officers say the threat from snipers has intensified in recent months. Insurgent gunmen have honed their skills and acquired better equipment, notably night-vision rifle scopes to target U.S. troops after the sun goes down. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)A picture released by the US Army 19 June 2006 shows marines livining without electricity or running water inside the newly fortified observation post near the town of Habbaniyah, just outside the restive city of Ramadi in al-Anbar province west of Baghdad. The battalion added new posts along the highway between Fallujah and Ramadi to reduce the threat of improvised explosive devices and hunt down insurgents. A US military spokesman said additional checkpoints were set up "to restrict the flow of insurgents, but citizens will still be able to enter and leave the city." EDS NOTES: CORRECTING DATE IN CAPTION AFP PHOTO/HO/USMC/CPL MARK SIXBEY
