Iraq War Vet Talks About The Raid That Landed Him On The New York Times'

Aug 18 2008 8:00 AM EDT

Iraq War Vet Talks About The Raid That Landed Him On The New York Times' Front Page'This is something I'll be able to show my grandchildren and talk to them about,' Lorenzo Zarate says.
By Michelle Rabinowitz

During the early days of the war in Iraq, 24-year-old Lorenzo Zarate helped detain one of Saddam Hussein's former security guards and found millions of U.S. dollars in the home of the former dictator's daughter. But it was a more routine raid that landed the former Army infantryman on the cover of The New York Times.

"There had been a lot of roadside bombs going off around us lately, and an informant told us who the guy was and where he lived," he said.

(If Zarate's name looks familiar, it's because the vet had a chance to meet Kanye West during the MTV News special "Choose or Lose & Kanye West Present: Homecoming." Watch their surprise meeting here.)

So on the night of December 11, 2003, Zarate and some other members of the Army's 4th Infantry Division raided an unassuming house in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown.

"We busted down the door, and at first we didn't find anything," he said. "But then we got out the metal detectors and started searching the house and the yard. That's where we found it all. I'd say about 200 pounds of explosives."

That night, Zarate's unit seized a huge arsenal of weapons and arrested three men who were believed to be leaders of an insurgent cell, according to The Associated Press. It was his job to guard one of the men while the rest of the unit finished up the search.

"In the back of my mind, I'm thinking, 'This guy is responsible for killing friends of mine,' " he said. "My buddies are not here, and this guy is here. What should I do with that? I was ready to shoot him."

Zarate is back home in Austin, Texas, now. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and can't work until his doctors are sure his treatment is working. Talking about the night that photograph was taken has helped him deal with what he witnessed, he said.
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