Terry Gross yesterday

[rwork]

She had a young Marine on who is back from Iraq,out of the Marines and has written a book called "The Shooter." Very chilling the way he described his time as a sniper.He was one of best in the business.He mentioned taking someone out from 700 yards.He once shot an Iraqi twice as the man ran across his field of view.The man lived, and then laughed about being shot and then meeting the man who shot him.The Marine said he had no remorse, he was doing this for his country.He said he took no joy in taking life,but it had to be done to save American lives.It makes me angry to see our young men put in these terrible positions by bush* and a war based on lies.He mentioned coming home and not being met by greatful crowds.He said that was stolen from me.He said he dreams about his experiences in Iraq, but they are'nt nightmares.The way he expressed himself and his tone, I am not sure about that.

[maxsolomon]

1. did he explain the connect between

shooting an iraqi @ 700 yards & how that had to be done to "save american lives"? because i never can grok the 1 + 1 = 2 of that simplistic equation.

on edit: oh, yeah; i honor your sevice, you are a hero, support the troops, etc.

[QuettaKid]

5. not in that particular instance

but he did mention in Mogadishu taking out someone who was about to start firing with a jeep mounted 50 caliber machine gun....and I agree...the guy's tone was just chilling to hear.

[realFedUp]

2. The first woman to receive the silver star

killed 3 insurgents to get that.

*sigh*

[janx]

3. It will take him a long time to come to terms with it all; in some

cases, it takes years.

[acmejack]

4. In some cases, never

nt

[janx]

6. Good point. n/t

[Ysolde]

7. That's chilling...

It does show that almost anyone can rationalize all sorts of behaviors if they are conditioned properly. And we think a Holcaust could never happen here???

[Coventina]

8. He thinks he deserves grateful crowds????

THAT'S chilling!!!!

Or extremely arrogant.

:puke:

[alfredo]

9. I've known two snipers. Both were raging alcoholics. Both

were suffering from fits of rage. Both were very scary people.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. Why is anyone "shocked". That's what soldiers do.

That's why they have guns, bombs, missiles, artillary, and all the other nifty goodies that the armaments industry makes billions on.

What's the difference between a sniper and some guy in a plane dropping bombs on "insugents" from 10,000 feet? Or some guy pulling the lanyard on a howitzer from a mile away?

Soldiers are hired to kill people. Whether at the 700yds this moron is bragging about or 20000 ft that the jetjockies brag about, or some guy who pushes a button to fire a missile from 100 miles away.

"Support Our Killers" would make a more accurate bumper sticker.

[stanwyck]

11. Another perspective

My son is a Marine sniper on his second tour in Iraq. He joined the Marines, I believe, because he knew he would be a successful Marine. He was not a successful college sophmore. He is, by nature, gentle and easy-going. Ironically, these attributes may help him succeed as a sniper. Snipers generally are able to slow their heartbeats so they can shoot more accurately.
He was more suprised than anyone to find out he is an excellent marksman. He was raised in a home without guns. He was most worried before going to boot camp about his lack of knowledge about weapons. He thought he would fail at the shooting range.
My son played club and school soccer for 12 years and never received a yellow or red card...his coaches wished he had. But he has a non-aggressive nature.
He's doing the job he was assigned to do. He hides for hours waiting for a convoy to be attacked. It's his job to look for anyone who would leave explosives for the supply trucks. He used to be in a two-man team, but since the troops are stretched so thin, he's usually by himself and he usually spends hours hidden, just looking and waiting.
His twin sister is very much the anti-war activist at her college. Both brother and sister voted for Kerry.
My husband and I raised our son and daughter to make their own decisions. We support them.
I understand your difficulty with this war. We share the same concerns.
Just remember, you would not want to be summarily categorized as narrow-minded. Or cowardly. Or weak. Adjectives some use to dismiss those who oppose this war.
So perhaps you shouldn't summarily caterogize all the young men and women in the military according to an interview with one individual.
They are not better than you because of what they do. But neither are they worse than you.
They are individuals. And many hold very similar political views to those of us here.
Try to remember this.