How does the the sniper feel about the war at the beginning of the story?

The only hint in the beginning of the story about how the sniper feels about the war (in a mostly detached narration of his activities) appears in the second paragraph when the third person narrator refers to him by saying, "his eyes had the cold gleam of a fanatic." A fanatic is someone who is totally dedicated to a cause so the reader must assume that the Republican sniper is committed to his role in the Irish Civil War. The Republican army was steadfast in its opposition to Ireland's recent treaty with Great Britain. The history of the Irish Republican army often involved men who would rather die than live under the hegemony of the British and this sniper may have been just such a man. The sniper tends to do things without remorse, including killing an armored car commander, as well as a lady he perceives to be an "informer" who is out to reveal his position above the streets of Dublin. He is methodical in his tricking of the Free-State sniper and his killing of that enemy. Thus, it could certainly be argued, especially at the beginning of the story, that the sniper was in favor of the war because it was in support of giving Ireland its complete freedom.