A MARINE OFFERS HIS PERSPECTIVE...AND IT, TOO, IS NOT SO BAD.

Marine Maj. Ian Stone is convinced the near daily killings of U.S. and British troops in Iraq are not a result of widespread anti-occupation sentiment.

"You can't convince me that there are segments of the population who have become disenfranchised or disillusioned with the United States," said Stone, 35, a Pensacola reservist who has just returned from Iraq.

"When we got there, we were considered the liberators by the vast majority of the population who lived under the tremendous brutality of the Saddam (Hussein) regime.

I can tell you that the majority of the population wants the Americans there, and they want the Americans to provide security," said Stone, who called airstrikes in on targets for the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines as they fought on the front lines on the march toward Baghdad.

Meanwhile, Stone is certain these attacks are the work of pockets of Hussein loyalists who are afraid to face the troops.

"They learned early that they can't face us in battle," he said. "The only way to face us is to suck us into an environment to take potshots at us."

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