Iraq vet walks across Utah.

• Author: Hillman-Harrigan, Robyn
• Position: On the Line - Interview

Sergeant Marshall Thompson, a Mormon soldier from Utah, voted for George Bush in 2000. Since then, he has traveled some distance.

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"I joined the military because I wanted to serve my country," says Thompson. "But I didn't understand, when I signed up, how much my loyalties could be abused. I wanted to do something good and instead found myself sent to Iraq to serve in an illegal, unjust, and immoral war. It was a tough realization."

Thompson went to Iraq as a military journalist in 2006. This post demanded that he speak with a large number of Iraqis, as well as U.S. soldiers. These conversations opened his eyes.

"It is a myth that somehow the insurgency in Iraq is against everything we are as Americans," he says. "They are very practical. They just want us out of their country."

His conversations with U.S. soldiers were equally revealing. "I spoke with a lot of guys who joined the army after September 11 because they wanted to protect their country," he recalls. "One of the most telling moments was when we were watching a floor debate about the war in Iraq in the chow hall and Republicans kept saying things like, 'We have to make it to the end,' 'We can't drop the ball,' 'We can't give up now.' Then a Democrat got up and said, 'Just remember it's not you that's out there, the troops are. It's not you, it's them.' The whole hall just started applauding like crazy."

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