War of
Words

Just like in the days of the
Vietnam War, some Amer-
ican soldiers have fled the
Army and sought safety in
Canada. But what is next
for them? Should they be
allowed to stay?

 

 

  

Qatar

Army deserters should be deported

By Garth McLennan

ne of the hot topics right now is .
O the deportation orders involving

several American army deserters.
These cowards—and that is what they,
are—are desperately seeking the right to
remain in Canada.

So, over this period of time, the

activist left has come out in full force with |

big banners that proclaim how horrible
it is that these so-called soldiers actually
have to live up to their responsibilities.
They carry insulting signs and sing
annoying chants that all center on the
evil of the Iraq War and about how these
deserters are really heroes, just like the
“heroes” who fled the Vietnam War.

The big difference here is that the
war in Iraq, unlike the one 40 years ago
in Vietnam, doesn’t involve a draft or any
conscription:of any kind. Each and every
single one of these “war resisters” signed
up for the armed forces out of their own
free will. No one forced them to do it.
There was no obligation for

 

 

Jeremy Hinzman, deserted US Army

 

y

them to enlist. And it isn’t like they

didn’t know what they were getting into.

The Iraq war is almost six years old
now. The minimum term in the armed
forces for a soldier is three years. So, it
isn’t like they, signed up in 2002 before
the war started, became opposed to it
and now don’t want to go. The war has
been raging for six long years, and the
Afghanistan one for even longer, with
more coverage and analysis on it than
any form of combat in history. These
fugitives knew what they were getting

into when they signed up for the job.

I have no problem with people
who are opposed to the war. There isn’t
anything wrong with that. But if they
were so against it then why sign up in
the first place? To join the military freely
and then run away when they need you
to help them is shameful. Those that
are fundamentally opposed to the war
are allowed to apply for conscientious
objector status as well.

It would also be a disgusting move
by the Canadian government to permit
deserters who won’t honour their word
to remain in Canada when:we have so

‘many of our own men and women over in
Afghanistan and other parts of the world
defending freedom and putting their lives
on the line. a

With so many people who enlisted
in both the Canadian and American
militaries out of nothing more than
a sense of duty and right, how can
these snivelling cowards even look at
themselves in the mirror, knowing full
well that thousands of others had the
courage to do what is right? Plain and
simple, they abandoned their fellow
troops, and Stephen Harper is right to
kick them out.

 

 

By Jay Schreiber

ave you ever seen an
advertisement for the Canadian
Armed Forces? Looks pretty

cool to rescue people from helicopters
and retrieve hostages from behind enemy
lines. The truth is, being in the armed
forces isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Dating back to the days of
conscription in the U.S. and Canada,
people have been leaving their home
grounds in search of refuge from being
shipped off to war. Call me a pacifist, but
I have a strong dislike for war and refuse
to ever be enlisted in an activity where
my objective may be to kill another
human being. That aside, I do have a
respect for the military, and believe that
they do a lot of good work.

In some cases though, this work
has been WWI, WWIL, and the Vietnam
War to name a handful. Eligible men and
women, facing conscription,
who want nothing to do with
war activity, have a right to
choose not to fight. I don’t
believe the government should
ever force anyone to kill, but
rather dangle the opportunity to be put in
a situation that it may happen in front of
draftees.

I sympathize with people not
wanting to be forced into something they

don’t want to do. One of the things that
makes Canada such a great place is our
peaceful and accepting nature. Canada

(and specifically Vancouver) was host
to many American draft dodgers during
the ‘60s and ‘70s and was quite lenient
when finding and retuning them to the
states. For the most part, the Canadian

Draft dodging: the humane
thing to do

     

government looked the other way, and

before any of the captured dodgers ever

saw a court date, U.S. President Jimmy
Carter issued a full pardon

“I sympathize with people not wanting to be forced into something they of all escapees.
don’t want to do. One of the things that makes Canada such a great
place is our peaceful and accepting nature.”

Canada is a humane
and accepting culture, and
if we no longer accept draft
dodgers it would be a big step backwards
for our “live and let live” way of life.
After all, I, myself, am an American who
chooses to live in Canada.