"It was their choice to join the military; now they seem to think they're civilians who can simply quit a job they don't like anymore."

The problem with this often repeated refrain is that it ignores the rights of soldiers under international law. I know Shrub has been taking an extended leak on international law, but it still applies to this situation.

http://www.notinourname.net/troops/hinzman-20apr05.htm

"Jeffry House is convinced that Jeremy Hinzman has a strong case for refugee status and should eventually be granted it. He cites the Geneva Conventions on War and the Nuremberg Principles, which maintain that it is a soldier’s obligation to disobey illegal orders or to participate in war crimes. The U.S. war on Iraq, being neither defensive nor approved by the U.N., is illegal. Therefore, orders to fight in Iraq are illegal. Soldiers who refuse these illegal orders are obeying international law and U.S. law too, since the U.S. Congress has ratified these international laws and treaties.

House also provided Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board with reams of documentation confirming that the U.S. military has engaged in a widespread pattern of systematic war crimes in Iraq. "If Jeremy Hinzman had gone to Iraq, he would likely have been put in a position of committing or supporting the commission of war crimes.""

A few years ago, our federal television station, the CBC, held a competition for several weeks which allowed Canadians to nominate famous (or not) Canadians for the title of "The Greatest Canadian". After the Nominees were in, you got to call in and vote for your choice. Among the nominees were stars such as Neil Young, Shania Twain, Maurice "The Rocket" Richard, and Michael J. Fox.

The winner was Tommy Douglas; Baptist preacher of the 'social gospel', leader of the only socialist government in North America (in Saskatchewan), and father of universal health care. As a child of Scottish immigrants, Douglas suffered from a bone infection that did not improve after several operations and may have led to amputation but for the intervention of a surgeon who was visiting Winnepeg and offered to operate for free if his students could watch. This experience never left Douglas. Thanks to his socialist ideals and tenacity as Premier of Saskathewan, we have universal health care.

What's my point? Just that, although we are so close, we are so far. That notch just to the left means that some ideas that are intrinsic to the Canadian identity are perceived as radical by our neighbors to the south. And yes, before you jump on me, I do think my country is better, but isn't that how most people feel about their country? It's my culture and few people can escape some feelings of cultural superiority.

Having said that, I love San Francisco, I love New York, I love Lou Reed, and Arrested Development and Cary Tennis and hip-hop and Linklater films and the Grand Canyon and Popeye cartoons and how friendly Americans are (sometimes). I'll never get used to Canadian television (wooden acting, toronto accents, and twee storylines), but I still find Canadian comedy funnier (goofy, british influenced, improv based). Stars like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Jim Carrey, and Celine Dion may be Canadian, but they all live in the US, because, for so many Candians, the opportunities south of the border are exponentially greater. I've travelled through the US twice, and will again because it is a magnificent country.

But, like most Canadians, I still have not gotten over my shock that the US re-elected George Bush. After watching the ludicrous incompetence and scary bravado of his first term, I think most Canadians were pretty sure that he would receive the trouncing of a lifetime in '04. Watcing the election that night, realizing that he had received a mandate for another four years, part of me just snapped. For the first time, it felt like the citizens of the United States were from another solar system. Subsequently, my friends and I have often watched speeches and press conferences given by Bush, and wondered in vain what it was that Americans are seeing that the rest of the world cannot. The mere fact of George Bush as President points to a far greater cultural chasm between us that I had imagined, lulled as I was by years of Clinton (who enjoys near superstar status up here).

The war on Iraq is a subject that, believe it or not, causes a lot of anger and pain up here. It is painful for many Canadians that our closest ally and neighbor has entered into a war that is generally perceived of as illegal, and that has resulted in so much death, mutilation, and smouldering animosity. It may seem crazy, but I still don't get it. Why? One might argue that this muck-up has been caused by marauding republicans, hell-bent on enriching the industrial military complex, but that's just not so. After 9-11, civilized liberal individuals with strong intellects advocated flattening the Middle East. Democrats presented no discernable opposition (and still have not). I hate to say this, and it is not meant to be hurtful, but I feel as though the United States suffered a tragic body blow on 9-11, and then proceeded to react at every turn in the worst possible way, betraying a paucity of grace, resiliance, and intellectual fortitude.

Having said all that, I know that there are many brilliant, thoughtful Americans who are committed to a change, and I have a really good feeling about the next few years. Now if only we can oust our own special asshole in chief, Stephen Harper, deal with global warming, and eliminate child poverty, we'd be cooking with gas!

Instead of running to Canada, soldiers should request a referral to the post psychiatrist, mention all the PTSD symptoms they got in Iraq (and everybody does, no matter how macho they might appear)and get discharged. (Easy, as the Army doesn't want soldiers with PTSD.)

Then they need to apply for VA disability and will get 100% if their symptoms are bad enough (and most of them are). Then they can take their $2600 (tax-free) a month to Canada if they want to, and it will be worth about $3000 in Canadian dollars. If that's the way they want to go. They could also just stay at home and try to make the best of their ruined lives.

However, the U.S. Government has provided a way for traumatized soldiers to receive a lifelong income. The soldiers just have to know how the game is played. It's just payback for going over there and getting screwed up.