This story was mentioned by Paola Gasparoli, Humanitarian aid worker for the NGO "Un ponte per…" and one of the few to have entered Fallujah [hat tip to Nur al-Cubicle], in the Italian TV piece about Chemical Weapons used by the US military [back].

From the Santa Barbara Independent:

According to Manning, the “bum” winked at him and said, “Look in my eyes. I have the eyes of a former sniper. You thought you had the goods on George Bush, didn’t you? You’ve been sandbagged, boy.”

Creepy? You betcha:

Mark Manning was a Californian professional oil rig diver who decided to find a new rush by becoming a documentary filmmaker in Iraq.

By delivering medical supplies to Iraqi refugees, Manning said he was able to conduct dozens of interviews — videotaped clandestinely — amassing some 25 hours worth of tape.

...

Manning is perhaps the only American citizen, outside the employ of a major news agency, to have embedded himself in Falluja for the sake of information.

...

Manning said he heard numerous reports of the second siege of Falluja that described American forces deploying — in violation of international treaties — napalm, chemical weapons, phosphorous bombs, and “bunker-busting” shells laced with depleted uranium.

As Paola Gasparoli tells the story, Mark Manning was able to bring his videotapes out of Iraq, out of Jordan and back to Our Fair City, San Fancisco. This is when things got weird:

Arriving in San Francisco late on the night of February 11, Manning and Natalie Kalustian, a close friend and filmmaking partner, crashed at the Oceanside Motel on 46th Avenue. The next morning, after a stroll near Baker Beach, they returned to their car to find one of the windows smashed. Expensive camera and computer equipment lay in plain view, but only Kalustian’s purse was gone. Inside the purse, Manning said, were keys to their motel room. And when Manning and Kalustian returned to the motel, he recounted, someone had broken into their room. Even though there was jewelry and more film equipment lying about, he said, none of it was touched. In fact, said Manning, none of the suitcases had even been opened. The only thing missing, Manning said, was the big bowling-ball shaped bag containing his camera — and all his taped interviews.

At that time, Manning had not been back in the United States for more than 10 hours.

The next day, Manning said, a mysterious man contacted them to arrange a meeting, claiming he had the stolen purse. Manning and Kalustian went to a spot near 6th and Mission as instructed, where they were met by a man who appeared to be a “full-on street bum,” Manning said. After returning the purse, the man pulled Manning to one side, opened his wallet, and flashed what Manning estimated was $5,000 worth of $100 bills. According to Manning, the “bum” winked at him and said, “Look in my eyes. I have the eyes of a former sniper. You thought you had the goods on George Bush, didn’t you? You’ve been sandbagged, boy.”

I can't believe all this happened in my city and I've never heard of it before. I know the locations well. 6th and Mission is one of the scuzziest intersections in SF.

Let's be careful out there and keep an eye out for The Man. He comes in many forms. And let's not get sandbagged on this story.