COUNTDOWN For August 24, 2005 MSNBC KEITH OLBERMANN: For surviving veterans of Iraq, the return home is not easy. Nobody is saying it`s like the March on Washington from the so- called Bonus Army in 1932, World War I vets demanding an immediate payment of a bonus that was scheduled for 1945, some of them eventually shooting it out with General Douglas MacArthur`s troops within sight of the Capitol. That all actually happened.
But what if I told you that one of the two soldiers who hauled Saddam Hussein out of hiding is, more than a year after his return from Iraq, and more than eight weeks after he started looking for a civilian job, unemployed tonight? Specialist Jeans Cruz joins us from New York tonight. Thank you for your time, sir. SPEC. JEANS CRUZ (RET.), UNEMPLOYED IRAQ WAR VETERAN: And thank you, Keith. OLBERMANN: We`ll get to the job in a moment. But first, we now have in this country what we certainly didn`t have when you left for Iraq, maybe when you got back, a very loud debate on how much longer we should stay in that country. You`ve more than earned your right to be heard on this. What do you think? CRUZ: To be honest, it is time to pull out now. As you said, no one needs to die for others who have died. Everybody has their sacrifices. And we do not need to sacrifice more people. We know what everybody else has sacrificed, and we have to praise that right now. OLBERMANN: So pulling out at this point, to you, would not be diminishing their memories in any way? CRUZ: No. Actually, it would be showing that, you know, it`s time to pull out, giving them concerns to families and showing respect, actually, for my concern. OLBERMANN: Was there a moment, do you think, when we actually accomplished what we went there for, that you actually accomplished what you went there for? CRUZ: Honestly, I thought I did. A lot of us thought we did. OLBERMANN: Was that when you and your group pulled Hussein out of that hole in the ground? CRUZ: And that is correct, to include as many years as this has been going on now, it`s not just one year, it`s been several. The more time in the (INAUDIBLE) that`s gone into it, the more things are falling out for families now. OLBERMANN: Let me ask about and you this job search. It sounds like, and I`m sure you`d agree with me on this, that your resume is outstanding, captured Saddam Hussein, before that, you`d been a security guard at the World Trade Center on 9/11. You have computer skills. What has it been like going for a job? I mean, do they just want to talk to you and pat you on the back and then say, No, thanks? Or how has that been? CRUZ: It kind of feels like it. I`ve gotten a lot of appreciation from a lot of jobs. The only thing I don`t get is a call back. And, well, currently, now things have been changing a little bit. And I could really thank a lot of people for that. OLBERMANN: What would you want potential employers to know about you? We`re sort of giving you a period of time here to sell yourself on national TV, if that will help. CRUZ: The best thing I can say, put me to work and I`ll show what you I could do. OLBERMANN: Does the Army help at all with job placement? I know you`ve been essentially demobilized for about two months. Do you have to be -- you know, as you look for a job and readjusting to civilian life, are you completely on your own? CRUZ: Well, no. Currently I`m also getting assisted from the VA hospitals and vet centers here in the Bronx and Manhattan, who are helping also for a job search. OLBERMANN: Is there a specific job you want out there? CRUZ: My best thing would be working with the community, and within the government, that is. OLBERMANN: Jeans Cruz, one of the soldiers who nabbed Saddam. Thanks greatly for your time, for your opinions, and all the best on the job search. And if we hear anything at this end, we`ll get the information to you right away. CRUZ: Thank you, Keith. Have a good evening. OLBERMANN: You too. -- www.marxmail.org
