Atlanta Georgia is new home to wounded IRAQI Soldier

By JENNIFER BRETT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/12/07
The soldier left Iraq with 11 bullet holes and a round left in him.
His military buddies call him Rambo.
A U.S. senator calls him a hero.
The president shook his hand.
An X-ray shows the damage to Capt. Furat's spine, including a still-lodged AK-47 bullet.
Capt. Furat, living anonymously in the United States after being injured in his country of Iraq while aiding the Americans, works out at Shepherd Center.
He's a regular at Atlanta's Shepherd Center, where he was hospitalized for months and now comes to exercise. He goes by only one name out of concern for his family's safety — back in Iraq.
Capt. Furat fought for seven years as a member of Saddam Hussein's special forces. He said he was conscripted as a teenager and feared for his family's life if he refused.
In 2003, after Saddam had been deposed, Furat sensed freedom for the first time. He spotted U.S. military posters in his village, encouraging Iraqi soldiers to join with coalition forces to combat insurgents. He signed up to fight with the Americans, instead of against them.
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