thedrifter
03-27-08, 06:23 AM
'SHOOTER' MARINE FUMES
By DAPHNE RETTER, Post Correspondent
March 27, 2008 -- WASHINGTON - One of the Marines' most-accomplished snipers took dead aim yesterday at Hillary Rodham Clinton's claims of facing fire in Bosnia, saying she has dissed the real heroes.
"She doesn't care about our service members - that's the feeling that gives me," said retired Staff Sgt. Jack Coughlin, a 20-year Marine sniper who detailed his real-life drama in the powerful 2006 book, "Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper."
"This is not a verbal snafu. She is using us," he told The Post.
Coughlin, who once recorded 13 enemy "kills" in a single day during the Iraq war, said Clinton committed "the ultimate sin" by trumping up a frightening scenario for political gain.
"She puts it out there so she can say she's been tested under fire - especially in the smug way she was talking about it," Coughlin said, referring to Clinton's account of running across a military tarmac in Tuzla, Bosnia, while under sniper attack.
Clinton has said this week that she misspoke.
"So I made a mistake," she told reporters Tuesday in Pennsylvania, where she was campaigning before the state's April 22 primary.
But Coughlin's not buying it.
"She tried to punch her ticket in the 'warrior club,' like, 'I've been there, done that, and I've got the T-shirt,' " Coughlin said. "If you do it for political gain - that's where you cross the line."
Now retired from the military, Coughlin recorded more than 60 "confirmed kills," and retains the record as the Marines' top sniper, according to his book.
Coughlin said he found himself in the cross-hairs of enemy snipers "more times than I can count."
The former sniper said he finds Clinton's memory lapse incomprehensible.
"That is something she would never forget - I still remember what gear I was using when I came under fire."
Coughlin, who was already planning to vote against Clinton or her rival Barack Obama because they are both opponents on the Iraq war, said that voters should consider carefully what Clinton's so-called misstatement says about her character.
"This has nothing to do with politics - this is just about right and wrong," Coughlin said.
"It seems like she's just going to be thinking about 'What makes me look better?' not 'What's better for the country?' "
daphne.retter@nypost.com
Ellie
By DAPHNE RETTER, Post Correspondent
March 27, 2008 -- WASHINGTON - One of the Marines' most-accomplished snipers took dead aim yesterday at Hillary Rodham Clinton's claims of facing fire in Bosnia, saying she has dissed the real heroes.
"She doesn't care about our service members - that's the feeling that gives me," said retired Staff Sgt. Jack Coughlin, a 20-year Marine sniper who detailed his real-life drama in the powerful 2006 book, "Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper."
"This is not a verbal snafu. She is using us," he told The Post.
Coughlin, who once recorded 13 enemy "kills" in a single day during the Iraq war, said Clinton committed "the ultimate sin" by trumping up a frightening scenario for political gain.
"She puts it out there so she can say she's been tested under fire - especially in the smug way she was talking about it," Coughlin said, referring to Clinton's account of running across a military tarmac in Tuzla, Bosnia, while under sniper attack.
Clinton has said this week that she misspoke.
"So I made a mistake," she told reporters Tuesday in Pennsylvania, where she was campaigning before the state's April 22 primary.
But Coughlin's not buying it.
"She tried to punch her ticket in the 'warrior club,' like, 'I've been there, done that, and I've got the T-shirt,' " Coughlin said. "If you do it for political gain - that's where you cross the line."
Now retired from the military, Coughlin recorded more than 60 "confirmed kills," and retains the record as the Marines' top sniper, according to his book.
Coughlin said he found himself in the cross-hairs of enemy snipers "more times than I can count."
The former sniper said he finds Clinton's memory lapse incomprehensible.
"That is something she would never forget - I still remember what gear I was using when I came under fire."
Coughlin, who was already planning to vote against Clinton or her rival Barack Obama because they are both opponents on the Iraq war, said that voters should consider carefully what Clinton's so-called misstatement says about her character.
"This has nothing to do with politics - this is just about right and wrong," Coughlin said.
"It seems like she's just going to be thinking about 'What makes me look better?' not 'What's better for the country?' "
daphne.retter@nypost.com
Ellie