We lost the war in Iraq? Last I checked Saddam was dead, the democratic government we helped them build was in power, and our troops had mostly withdrawn. If that's a victory for Saddam or the insurgents, they must have had some really mixed up long term goals.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Is a K31 or K98 capable of killing people? Sure - the same could be said of a Sharps or even a crossbow. But that doesn't make those viable weapons on the modern battlefield. Were the Boers able to win a couple battles using long range rifle fire against incompetent British formations? Sure. But remember that ultimately the British Army defeated the Boers in the field, driving them to insurgency, and then won that insurgency. The World Wars and Korea demonstrated that long range rifle fire wasn't particularly useful outside of sniping or harassment. Once your targets are wearing camo, using cover and concealment, moving, and limiting their exposure to fire, those 600 yard shots stop happening on any regular basis. And god help you if those guys you opened up on at that range with your K31 happen to have an attached sniper team, or a GPMG, or a Javelin, or a radio to call some artillery etc.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Is a K31 or K98 capable of killing people? Sure - the same could be said of a Sharps or even a crossbow. But that doesn't make those viable weapons on the modern battlefield. Were the Boers able to win a couple battles using long range rifle fire against incompetent British formations? Sure. But remember that ultimately the British Army defeated the Boers in the field, driving them to insurgency, and then won that insurgency. The World Wars and Korea demonstrated that long range rifle fire wasn't particularly useful outside of sniping or harassment. Once your targets are wearing camo, using cover and concealment, moving, and limiting their exposure to fire, those 600 yard shots stop happening on any regular basis. And god help you if those guys you opened up on at that range with your K31 happen to have an attached sniper team, or a GPMG, or a Javelin, or a radio to call some artillery etc.