That is, word-for-word, how Cobra was founded.

According to official canon.

That would explain the stormtrooper-esque miss rate.

I'm pretty sure that COBRA is controlled by the Illuminati, same as the Joes. COBRA are the "sacrificial lambs" for the Illuminati's military-industrial complex; they serve as both a convenient enemy, to keep the civilian population scared and willing to fork over their money and freedoms in the name of counter-terrorism, and as human meat for testing the MIC's latest extravagant weapons systems on. COBRA foot soldiers are cheap and expendable; they are intentionally given substandard training and defective weapons systems so as not to jeopardize the lives of the highly trained, very expensive Joe operatives.