Article: When AWOL Is the Only Escape - “James was a patriot, and after Sept. 11, he joined the Army to defend his country. By 2002 James was in Italy, assigned to the 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade. The 173rd deployed to Iraq between March 2003 and 2004. Facing redeployment last April, this time to Afghanistan, James asked himself if he could tolerate replicating the disaster he'd been part of in Iraq. When he answered no, a friend drove him to the airport. Circello flew to the United States and has been AWOL ever since.”
As to why we should support war resisters – the following excerpt from a letter to the Georgia Straight, a local newspaper, by a Vancouver resident explains it best:
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“…young American men get their news from sources such as the Fox News Channel, are preyed upon by military recruiters, and are encouraged to sign up by conservative family members. Can she not understand how someone like Mr. McCall (who is too young to legally purchase alcohol) can join the army believing he is doing the right thing and then have a political awakening as he learns more about the U.S. role in the Middle East? Would Magnall have sent war resisters in the Second World War back to fight for the Nazi genocide machine? How exactly does she propose to end the illegal invasion of Iraq?
The real story here is the emerging policy of the Canada Border Services Agency (no doubt in cooperation with the U.S. military) to prevent war resisters from seeking asylum in Canada. In conjunction with the recent cases of Alison Bodine and the CodePink cofounders, it is clear that all forms of protest against the war are being targeted. It is Brad McCall today, the rest of us tomorrow.”
If you would like to hear from the war resisters personally as to why we should support them then watch the following video. On Saturday, October 27 2007, I had the pleasure of attending the Vancouver Peace Rally. I took my trusted little camcorder and ended up filming the event. The following is the talk regarding the war resisters:
Further information on a location of a demonstration in your area see: War Resisters Support Campaign
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“US war resisters - soldiers who fled to Canada rather than serve in Iraq – have won a significant victory in their campaign for asylum.
“A key committee in the Canadian parliament has ruled that the soldiers had the right to refuse to serve in a war if it is not sanctioned by the United Nations.
“The committee, which includes members of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party, recommended that the government allow Iraq war resisters and their families to stay in Canada. It also called for an immediate halt to all deportation proceedings.”