WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch, whose capture and rescue in the early days of the
Iraq war turned her into a US icon, said in an interview that the US government had used her as an upbeat symbol in the conflict.
"I think I provided a way to boost everybody's confidence about the war," Lynch told Time magazine.
"I was used as a symbol. They could show the war was going great because 'we rescued this person.' It doesn't bother me anymore. It used to," she said.
Lynch, who has previously criticized the official US government portrayal of her rescue, said her book "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story," written by Rick Bragg, allowed her to "set the record straight" about her March 23, 2003 capture and rescue nine days later.
Lynch, 22, who still uses a cane as she recovers from the injuries sustained during her capture, will attend West Virginia University. The tuition is being paid by her homestate of West Virginia.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050807/pl_afp/usiraqmilitarylynch_050807213823