Letters to the Editor
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Double Double
Given my moniker, I do suppose I have to post on this one.
Full disclosure: I am a dual citizen. Accident of birth. But ultimately, I do indeed have a dual loyalty, and our common Canadian anti-murkinism disgusts me, although I fully share in my fellow American's disgust with and shame about our current Administration.
But the biggest bit of full disclosure is that my profession here in Canada is refugee matters.
And frankly, US Army refugee claimants are a pretty small part of the whole bag of potatoes. I've got Israeli's sick of killing arabs, arabs sick of killing jews and each other, Zimbabweans, Burmese, Chechnyans sick of being killed and Russians sick of being oppressed minorities all over the former USSR, to say nothing of Colombians, Venezuelans, and truly staggering numbers of Chinese fleeing forced abortions. And I didn't even mention Africa, the source of the majority of my clients.
And oh yeah, a tragic number of Iraqis, who will be making their pleas for sanctuary to exactly the same people and system that the US Army fugitives will, on a pretty equal, and, I think, likely futile basis.
Americans may think that the world revolves around us, but the actual modern Canadian reality is that we actually have far bigger immigration realities to deal with than a couple of hundred US military fugitives.
Well, to be Canadian and smug for a moment, at least we don't put them in jail for a few years (including children) while we think about it.
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interesting job (and funny handle) Canuckistan Bob
does canada still have those education requirements? in other words do you get the best and brightest from all over the world?(it'll make toronto an interesting, if not cosmopolitan, city)
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What deserters?
From what I've gotten out of this article, it seems that the U.S. military hasn't posted the series limit. Is it 2 of 3, 3 of 5 etc.? The so-called deserters have already done one or two tours of duty in Iraq. Forgive me if I'm a tad naiive but how can these people be considered "deserters"?
Yes, they enlisted, and lived up to their end of the bargain by serving. Does this mean that they owe the military for the rest of their useful lives? If that's the case, then I say bring 'em north for a hearty "bienvenue". They deserve some peace and a break from the insanity that surrounds the Bush war.
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Smug and self righteous
"No offence but an American with enough sense to flee a pointless military occupation is still an American. Nice to have as a visitor now and then but not really that great as a neighbour. Stay at home and fight for what you believe in."
Sorry if those words caused Xeynon to feel that I was being smug and self righteous. God forbid anyone should be overly critical of Americans.
What I was trying to say was that the same soldier that is now looking for sanctuary in Canada was undoubtably critical of Canada's disinvolvement in the Iraq "war" when it began, as were most Americans. (Thank god we aren't the French who you still haven't forgiven for not wanting to support you) I live in Canada and I remember what Americans said about us not supporting the US in Iraq. (Forget about the fact that we did go to Afghanistan where Bin Laden was actually hiding) You are shitty smug neighbours that don't like upitty countries having their own opinion..
I stand by what I said. If you want to make a change don't flee your country, stand and fight. And stop being such pussies when someone calls you out on something.
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canada the courageous? marko1965
you call someone who most likely volunteered to fight in afghanistan out of mistaken patriotism, got sent to iraq, saw enough death for a lifetime, got ptsd, was told to suck it up and now can't stand it anymore, a pussy? now you want this wreck to either spend time in a maximax or wave banners? when all he needs is rest from it all? it makes you seem both cowardly and callous.
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Desertion by American forces...
From what I've gotten out of this article, it seems that the U.S. military hasn't posted the series limit. Is it 2 of 3, 3 of 5 etc.? The so-called deserters have already done one or two tours of duty in Iraq. Forgive me if I'm a tad naiive but how can these people be considered "deserters"?
Yes, they enlisted, and lived up to their end of the bargain by serving. Does this mean that they owe the military for the rest of their useful lives? If that's the case, then I say bring 'em north for a hearty "bienvenue". They deserve some peace and a break from the insanity that surrounds the Bush war.
There isn't a "series limit" (?) on a servicemember's deployments. You enlist for four years of active service and four additional years of "individual ready reserve" service immediately after those four active years are over. While you are on the four years of active service, you are a contracted military member, party to a contract that you signed knowing full well the details. And, more than likely, at the time you signed it you did so enthusiastically.
The problem with the United States Army today (much, much less so the Marine Corps) is that there are too many sad-sack rejects who join only for college money. When they join, maybe hoping, maybe having been told they will not deploy, and suddenly find themselves actually *gasp* FIGHTING AS A SOLDIER, they start throwing a fit that "this wasn't what they signed on for." Today's U.S. Army is a public welfare project, not a professional military force. There are too many financial incentives to joining the military. And most of these incentives are the fault of the hyperventilating defeatist leftists who don't understand what soldiering is about.
If anything there needs to be an expose on how the Army is failing the American people by lowering their standards to a criminal level. There is something wrong when E-7s in the Army are sporting full gold false-fronts, something I saw yesterday at a memorial here in Iraq.
I'm sorry, but if people enlisting in 2004 or 05 didn't know they would be going to Iraq, or what being a soldier didn't otherwise entail, they're idiots and I'm just as glad not to have them in uniform.
Let the hyperventilators in this country have their Pyhrric "heroes." They are welcome to them.