"Marlboro Man": LOOKING BACK I WOULDN'T DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN

[Proud2BAmurkin]

Oops. Sorry Freeptard sickos. Your hero says he wouldn't want his kid to enlist and says invasion was a mistake:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/01/29/MNGMHGVCEV1.DTL

Miller himself seems torn -- proud of the troops fighting for freedom, but wondering whether there was a peaceful way, to find terrorists in Iraq without invading.

There was no time for such questions in Fallujah. But now, at night, when he can't sleep, Miller thinks of the men he saw through his rifle scope, and wonders: Were they terrorists fighting against America? Or men fighting to protect their homes?

"I mean, how would we feel if they came over and started something here?" he asked. "I'm glad that I fought for my country. But looking back on it, I wouldn't do it all over again."

[xchrom]

1. the first cut is always the deepest.

[Hissyspit]

2. Find terrorists in Iraq without invading??

They weren't THERE!

[tsuki]

3. Finding terrorist in a country without terrorists is kind of like

finding WMDs in a country without WMDs.

But, there are plenty of terrorist there now.

[mzmolly]

4. Here is the famed photo mentioned in the piece

The photo of the ‘Marlboro Man’ in Fallujah became a symbol of the Iraq conflict when it ran in newspapers across America in 2004. Now the soldier has returned home to Kentucky,where he battles the demons of post-traumatic stress.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The photograph hit the world on Nov. 10, 2004: a close-cropped shot of a U.S. Marine in Iraq, his face smeared with blood and dirt, a cigarette dangling from his lips, smoke curling across weary eyes.

It was an instant icon, with Dan Rather calling it "the best war photograph in recent years." About 100 newspapers ran the photo, dubbing the anonymous warrior the "Marlboro Man."

[ContraBass Black]

5. He went partially deaf shortly before this photo was taken.

Sad.

[mzmolly]

9. Very sad all around. eom

[Proud2BAmurkin]

10. No price to high for King George's propaganda war n/t

.

[roguevalley]

17. 1000 yard stare. you can see it in every war.

[0007]

6. What a story! A must read!!

[mzmolly]

8. A must read and a must recommend.

Very powerful.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

11. First Pat Tillman now this guy. Bush is having a hard time finding

a poster boy

[Tin Man]

7. powerful piece - thanks for posting n/t

[Straight Shooter]

12. *cough* You weren't fighting for your country.

You were fighting for Little Boots and his merry gang of war profiteers.

Betrayal is a hell of a way to lose your innocence.

[DavidDvorkin]

13. Exactly

We need to keep pointing this out.

[phusion]

14. What a sad story...

It kind of epitomizes this stupid war, doesn't it? :(

And he's only 21...He looks a lot older than that, IMO. Looks like he's been through hell and back.

[Rose Siding]

15. Why do Marines have to carry 20lb radios into combat?

As Miller remembers that day, he was on a rooftop taking fire and calling for support on his radio - a 20-pound piece of equipment that he had to lug around along with nine extra batteries...

Is that really the best that's available?

[stevedeshazer]

16. Remember, this is just one guy's story, So many more to come.

For every soldier's story, thousands go untold.