40,000 soldiers have deserted, others refuse to go to Iraq
Thousands of troops say they won’t fight
By Ana Radelat
Gannett News Service
Swept up by a wave of patriotism after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Chris Magaoay joined the Marine Corps in November 2004.
The newly married Magaoay thought a military career would allow him to continue his college education, help his country and set his life on the right path.
Less than two years later, Magaoay became one of thousands of military deserters who have chosen a lifetime of exile or possible court-martial rather than fight in Iraq or Afghanistan.
“It wasn’t something I did on the spur of the moment,” said Magaoay, a native of Maui, Hawaii. “It took me a long time to realize what was going on. The war is illegal.”
That's one. But how many deserters are there really?
Since 2000, about 40,000 troops from all branches of the military have deserted, the Pentagon says. More than half served in the Army. But the Army says numbers have decreased each year since the United States began its war on terror in Afghanistan.
Those who help war resisters say desertion is more prevalent than the military has admitted.
The rest is here. And another story:
Army will not allow Watada to resignThe rest is here.
A pretrial hearing for the isle Army officer is scheduled for Aug. 17
By Gregg K. Kakesako, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
The Army has rejected 1st Lt. Ehren Watada's offer to resign instead of facing a possible court-martial for refusing to deploy to Iraq.
This was the third time Watada, 28, has offered to resign his Army commission. He is scheduled to face an Article 32 pretrial hearing at Fort Lewis, Wash., on Aug. 17.
The pretrial hearing is equivalent to a preliminary hearing in a civilian criminal court, and is expected to last a few days.
The Army seems "to want to make a martyr out of him," said Eric Seitz, Watada's attorney. "If that is the case, then we are certainly eager to join issue with them because I think this whole episode is going to be much more embarrassing to the Army than it is going to be detrimental in the long run to Lt. Watada."
The Army seems bent on having a court-martial and sending Watada to prison, Seitz said.
You'd think that 40,000 deserters since 2000 would appear in major media sources. But does it? You be the judge.
Say, here's an idea: Bring all of our troops home from Iraq and send Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and anyone else who wishes to go in their place.
Ya think it might work?
LP
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1 Comments:
the psyche of the nation has been deeply scarred. no longer is there a sense of continuity of tradition and respect for formalities. as a consequence of reckless policy from our highest elected office in the nation, the civil body has affected to immitate this behavior with a maverick style of their own. in addition to the audacious behavior of some, others, particularly those in uniform feel themselves within right to defect to those in opposition to the war in Iraq. should they feel this war unjust, they should petition the proper civil agents that can address this issue. to take matters into their own hands by refusing to deploy is a treacherous act and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the UCMJ. the actions of 1st Lt Watada and various others are outright deplorable. i am a current soldier in Iraq, involuntarily mobilized. i have been away from home for over 16 months now. and though i may question the war and the policies surrounding several recent ventures, it is not within my authority to object to orders to deploy to whatever location i should be needed. the only time i have the capacity to question authority or legality of an order is not within the context of the execution and mobilization of the armed forces or the pretext for authorized force, but instead on the field of battle, in the areas of operation. it is the duty of every soldier to question the authority or legality of an order should it transgress the rules of conduct. this every soldier and marine stands by.
Always yours, SGT Anderson, Baghdad, Iraq
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