Perspective: 'I don't think you guys understand what is going on over there'

Marshall Magincalda

Cpl. Marshall Magincalda and seven of his comrades were angry. For weeks, the squad had endured insurgent attacks, but lacked evidence against the man they suspected was responsible.

They warned him that if any more bombs went off, they'd be paying him a visit. And when another blast occurred a week later, in April last year, they hatched a plan for an unorthodox revenge. But a different man ended up dead.

On Thursday, Magincalda sat down with The Associated Press in his first in-depth interview since being released from custody last week for crimes stemming from the incident. He described, often emotionally, the day his squad kidnapped and gunned down an Iraqi man, and how he feels about it now.

"I am upset with my actions over there for not stopping what happened, but at the same time, I don't think you guys understand what is going on over there," he said. "This is a war, and the other side, they don't have rules. When we do finally get the intelligence and we do have enough to get someone, it's very rare to actually catch them in the act."

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