Uh, crush-proof box? Or the camera man just handed him a fresh one from his pack? :confused:

I think it's washed-out by sunlight (unlike his face, which is shaded by his helmet.) You can see a similar whiteness along the top edge of his helmet.

The spin might be "vigilant and alert" or "sick and tired". Either way, very human.

It's a fake! Kill the bald man!
 

Yep, photoshopped. In addition to what you mentioned, there's no smoke near the cigarette, though the thing has been lit. There is smoke on the right side of the picture. If the cigarette were overexposed due to the sun, there would be a shadow on it somewhere (where it was shadowed by the soldier's face) -- there isn't.

Wrong- interview on TV with the wife or mother saying they gave him shit about smoking and he promised to quit when he leaves Iraq.

If he leaves Iraq. :(