Posted on 05/21/2008 2:28:08 PM PDT by Dawnsblood
Canada is set to deport in June the first of possibly hundreds of American soldiers who sought asylum to avoid military duty in Iraq, a group backing the US deserters said Wednesday.
Corey Glass, 25, came to Canada in August 2006 after serving in Iraq as a military intelligence sergeant.
Authorities told him on Wednesday that his application to stay in Canada was rejected and he would be deported in early June, a spokeswoman for the War Resisters Support Campaign told AFP.
According to the group, several hundred Iraq War resisters are currently in Canada, many of them living underground. Glass would be the first of them to be deported, it said.
"This goes against Canada's tradition of welcoming Americans who disagree with policies like slavery and the Vietnam War," said Lee Zaslofsky, a War Resisters Support Campaign coordinator.
"Corey Glass would be the first Iraq War resister to be deported from Canada and he would face imprisonment and severe penalties in the US," he said. A spokeswoman for the War Resisters said Glass would face a court-martial and a possible five-year prison term for desertion.
Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board has said in a decision supported last year by the federal court that US asylum seekers are not conventional refugees under UN High Commissioner for Refugees rules, nor in need of protection.
Accordingly, Glass's refugee claim was denied.
A spokesman for the Canada Border Services Agency, which is responsible for enforcing the deportation order, was not immediately available for comment.
I like good news.
Welcome back Corey! I just wish we still shot those who go AWOL during war time.
Come on home Corey, we know you were just acting in the best interests of the U.S. in drawing attention to an illegal war. No hard feelings. Really. Stop by my house here in Buffalo, right over the border. I’ll give you a cup of tea or something. Really. Stop in. Love to have ya. Really.
Great ruling. These people are not dodging forced military service, they deserted after volunteering.
A Coward dies a thousand deaths,
a hero only one.
Ok. You get paid. You get training. You get food and bed. And then when the Army needs you... you desert. Can the taxpayers get their money back from these losers?
Great news, hope this tightens the puckering strings of the other deserters in Canada.
What a loser, this reminds Of another reason why Jimmy Carter should be thrown out of the Country.
That’s great news - what an oxymoron:
Canadian Cojones!!!
I trust this one case will set a legal precedent and we’ll get back to reality for a change.
Couldn’t he declare himself an illegal and then he wouldn’t have to obey any laws?? As a matter of fact, he could get free health care, food stamps, housing, and won’t have to pay any taxes!
((Holding up hand)) Pick ME! Pick MEEE for the firing squad! I’ll bring my own weapon and ammo.
Agreed! But he should have been thrown out long ago for his amnesty fiasco.
Read it again Thats what I was referring to.
Too bad the Canadians don’t want to keep them. We sure don’t need them. Maybe we can find a boat and a strong current....Until then, maybe we could let Sherrif Joe down in Arizona have ‘em.
Where will the first plane or bus come in? Maybe we can have a welcoming committee waiting. Anybody available to give these guys a traditional, good ol’ American welcome?
I know you referred to that, I meant he should have been booted long ago, we’re saying the same thing. :)
Army National Guard Sgt., Indiana native. Signed 8 year contract with National Guard in 2002. Deployed to Iraq and spent 5 months before being granted 2 weeks leave for stress relief. Rather than return, went underground and after 7 months, went to Toronto. Currently seeking refugee status in Canada. "I signed up to defend people and do humanitarian work filling sandbags if there was a hurricane. I should have been in New Orleans, not Iraq."
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