In a move designed to make up for Celine Dion and Avril Levine, Canada deported the first of 200 deserters from the U.S. Military back to the U.S.
One particular deserter, Robin Long, fled to Nelson, British Columbia just as the men in his tank unit were deploying to Iraq. Long whined—I mean complained—that he would “suffer irreparable harm if he returned to the United States,” according to alertnet.org.
The Victoria Times Colonist said, “U.S. deserters who are returned to their military base can face penalties including criminal charges, being required to complete their military contract or being given an undesirable administrative discharge from army service.”
Canada took in over 50,000 deserters during the Vietnam war; they are not as accommodating this time. One of the reasons for Canada’s inhospitality to deserters might be that the U.S. hasn’t drafted anyone into the military–todays’ members are volunteers, not conscripts. The majority of these volunteers understood they may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country—except for the 200 deserters still cowering in Canada. Well, 199 now that Long is on his way back to his old unit.
Alertnet.org stated, “Long and others have argued it was only after they had joined the military that they decided the U.S. government had lied to the public about the reasons for the Iraq War, and they were refusing to fight in an illegal conflict.”
Shall we parse Long’s argument? Somehow, after Long and the other deserters joined the military, they were enlightened to information that the rest of the country, including the president, Congress, and the secretary of defense did not have. Either that, or he decided better to dodge his commitment to his country than to dodge IED. Remember, the US hasn’t had a draft since the 1970s—Long willingly volunteered to “..support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic….bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and …obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over [me], according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”
Never mind that someone else would be going in his place. Long, and those like him, who voluntarily join the US military and then cower from from their duties and responsibilities are defrauders of the highest level and deserve the most severe punishment that their crime allows. On the plus side, it is better that deserters show their dishonor before the battlefield rather than put their entire squads at risk.
I firmly believe in a person’s right to disagree with Bush’s policies. Quit your job and become a professional protester like Cindy Sheehan; slather yourself in the sweat of Al Gore while flying in a Gulfstream jet and complain about carbon poisoning, but don’t join the military for the benefits Uncle Sam offers and dishonor yourself and your country by running to Canada like a French solider in front of the German army when asked to perform your duties.
According to the Department of Defense Web site, the penalties for deserters ranges from retention and rehabilitation to dishonorable discharge and five years confinement. During wartime, the deserter could be sentenced to death. The US executed deserters during both the civil war and World War II.
