AK’s are for illiterate 3rd-world soldiers. They aren’t worth a shit beyond a hundred yards. The M-16 and its varients, is a much more accurate weapon at longer ranges. Most of the combat that I’m aware of in Iraq tends to be urban, or at ranges under 300 meters. The M16 will do fine here.
Don’t get me wrong...I still think the best main battle rifles was/is the M14. I carried one in the Nam and can attest to its ruggedness and reliability. That long barrel got in the way of, or got caught on, anything and everything. Someting like Springfield Amory’s SOCOM would be a better solution. Sure, put a pistol grip on it.
7.62 NATO rules.
Actually, most of the Iraq war engagements that are going on now are at short ranges, where the long-range accuracy of the AK isn’t an issue. Because it’s an urban environment with many things to hide behind, penetrating power tends to be more crucial than accuracy. Even the thin sheetmetal of a modern car can help to defend an attacker from the relatively lightweight 5.56, where the heavier 7.62 in the AK will tear through it and kill the attacker.
In an urban combat situation, you want the heaviest slug you can manage, coupled with the shortest barrel possible. This gives the soldier both maneuverability and penetrating power. By moving to the M16, the Iraqi army is adopting a longer rifle with a lighter slug.
The M16 is a good weapon for combat out in the open countryside, but that’s not where the war in Iraq is being fought. It’s a weapon that was designed to fight against the Soviets across the fields of Europe, not the Mohammed twins firing out of a moving car 50 feet away.
When our ship went down to IV Corp to support riverine ops, we fired the M-16 as we got ready to be on station and I didn’t notice much difference between it and the Remington Nylon 66 .22 cal my dad gave me. Then I saw one of the Seawolf gunners fire his M-14. Right then I said I got to get me one of those. Well, it took thirty years, but I have a Springfield Armory M-1A. You just brush the trigger and it sends the bullet into the black every time.