What happens when the horror of Iraq become to much for a soldier to bear?

By Neil Makay

06/18/06 "Scotsman" -- -- MORE than 6000 men and women have deserted from the US army since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. In the British forces, the figure stands at around 1000. The soldiers are leaving because they are sickened by the bloodshed in Iraq; because they believe the war is illegal; because they are on the verge of nervous breakdown; and because they are having to buy their own boots or are not being given enough food and water. Labour MP John McDonnell says that troops are now “questioning the morality and legality of the occupation”.

In Britain, deserters rarely – if ever – publicly explain why they have refused to fight. In the US, however, it’s a different story.

Some 25 GIs have applied for refugee status in Canada since the invasion of Iraq. At least 200 others are just living quietly , assisted by organisations such as War Resisters, and hoping that the US will forget all about them. Many of the Canadians helping them were once US citizens themselves. More than 30 years ago, they fled north, taking Canadian citizenship to escape being drafted to Vietnam.

Many of these deserters are suffering from serious mental health problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by prolonged exposure to the horrors of war. Britain’s Ministry of Defence recently revealed that in 2005, around 60 soldiers a month were found to be suffering from mental health problems. The total number of cases, 727, equates to almost 10% of the entire British military presence in Iraq – and 66 were so badly affected that they had to be airlifted home. So far around 2500 US and 113 British soldiers have died in Iraq.

One fear is that the recently elected right-wing government in Canada, under the premiership of Stephen Harper, will look less favourably on the US deserters’ claims than the previous liberal administration – Harper is a lot closer to the government of US President George W Bush than his predecessor Paul Martin.

So far no US soldiers have been granted refugee status, but the Canadian government is thought to be looking for a politically comfortable solution that allows the deserters to stay in Canada without offending the Bush administration. It is unlikely the deserters would be deported back to the US, but they may be sent to a third country if their appeals fail.

Once a GI deserts, they lose all the perks : health insurance, pension and the right to a college education. When soldiers go on the run in the US, organisations such as GI Rights help and advise them. Peter Laufer, a respected US journalist whose forthcoming book Mission Rejected recounts the lives of Iraq war deserters, says GI Rights is so concerned about being monitored by the state that its volunteers have at times held discussions about soldiers’ cases in parking lots where they know they won’t be bugged.

“There are people hiding in attics and cellars,” says Laufer, “because they are being sought by the military police.” GIs who go public with their condemnation of the Iraq war are particularly targeted for arrest .

Once a GI is listed as Awol – absent without leave – their name is put into the Federal Crime Database. That means if they so much as a run a red light and get stopped by a traffic cop their name will be flagged and they will be arrested.

The punishment for desertion is a lengthy spell in military prison, but the US army retains the right to send a deserter before a firing squad to be executed – although that hasn’t happened since the end of the second world war.

The US media barely covers the ever-growing phenomenon of desertion, and Laufer’s book is tipped to cause a sensation when it reveals just how virulently some American troops loathe the action into which they have been sent.

Laufer says: “ The actions of these men and women is great ammunition against those who still support the war. You can’t impugn the actions of a soldier who served their country. These people have stood up and said, ‘this is wrong, I’m not going to do this any more’ in the face of severe penalties. They are brave and heroic and they deserve our support.”

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