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A shopper browses the bread section at a Wal-Mart store in Santa Clarita, California April 1, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

The food-stamp economy

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FACTBOX: Transcript of missing soldier in Afghanistan

KABUL
Sun Jul 19, 2009 10:53am EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - The U.S. military denounced on Sunday the release of a video showing a soldier captured in Afghanistan, saying the images were Taliban propaganda that violated international law.

U.S.

The U.S. military has confirmed the man in the video is the soldier it says went missing in late June.

The video has not appeared yet on websites regularly used by the Taliban or al Qaeda.

In the video, the soldier appeared to be in good health and is occasionally shown eating. His head is shaven and he has a slight beard. He is sitting cross-legged on the floor in traditional gray, loose-fitting Afghan shalwar kameez clothing.

The video is cut in places and a voice speaking in English can sometimes be heard in the background prompting him. Below is a transcript of a two-minute portion of the video which appeared on the Internet video sharing website YouTube (www.YouTube.com):

U.S. soldier: "Well I am scared. I'm scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner."

"I have my girlfriend who is hoping to marry. I have my grandma and grandpas. I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America."

Voice off camera: "Miss them."

Soldier: "And I miss them every day that I'm gone. I miss them and I'm afraid that I might never see them again and that I'll never be able to tell them that I love them again. I'll never be able to hug them."

Voice off camera: "Any message to your people?"

"Yes. To my fellow Americans who have loved ones over here, who know what it's like to miss them: you have the power to make our government bring them home."

"Please, please bring us home so that we can be back where we belong and not over here wasting our time and our lives and our precious life that we could be using back in our own country."

"Please bring us home. It is America and the American people that have that power."

(Writing by Jonathon Burch; Editing by Paul Tait)



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