What is the author's attitude toward the characters in the story, "The Sniper?"

I would say that the narrator's overall attitude toward the characters is aloof ambivalence.  The reader never gets the sense that the narrator cares for the characters all that much.  One key piece of evidence that supports the author's all around neutral attitude toward the characters is the fact that none of the characters have names.  Each character is more or less described.  "The Sniper, The Enemy Sniper, The Old Woman, and The Soldier in...

I would say that the narrator's overall attitude toward the characters is aloof ambivalence.  The reader never gets the sense that the narrator cares for the characters all that much.  One key piece of evidence that supports the author's all around neutral attitude toward the characters is the fact that none of the characters have names.  Each character is more or less described.  "The Sniper, The Enemy Sniper, The Old Woman, and The Soldier in the Turret" is the closest that the author gets to giving characters names.  Not having names makes each person the equivalent of any other named object on the battlefield.  To the narrator, the people are simply parts of a battle.  They are things to be used, killed, and cast aside.