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U.S. Soldier Deserts Claiming Iraq War Illegal-July 8, 2004

 
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Maurice
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 1:46 pm    Post subject: U.S. Soldier Deserts Claiming Iraq War Illegal-July 8, 2004 Reply with quote

U.S. Soldier Deserts - Claiming Iraq War Illegal.....


By Maurice Ali, Journalist



Jeremy Hinzman ponders his fate


"If I was going to go shoot depleted uranium rounds at Iraqi children or into the Iraqi ground and raise the cancer rates, then that is contrary to good standards of human conduct," - Jeremy Hinzman


Toronto, Canada - U.S. soldier Jeremy Hinzman was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. before he fled to Canada last January when he refused to fight in America's war in Iraq. The twenty five year old Hinzman has since applied for refugee status in Canada claiming that the war in Iraq is illegal and that he would be breaking the law by participating.

Brian Goodman of the Immigration and Refugee Board, presided at the pre-trial hearing and has the task of deciding whether Hinzman's argument merits consideration for his claim for refugee status. Mr. Goodman then set a date for the inquiry of Hinzman's refugee status application for October 20 - 22, 2004. One of the questions Goodman asked Hinzman is why he signed up for army service when he knew he may have to participate in a war.

Hinzman himself is married and a father of a two-year-old son. They currently reside in the Toronto area. People under refugee applications are cared for by the Canadian government until the status of their application is decided.

So what can we make of this? It should be noted that the United Nations declared the U.S. lead war on Iraq as an: "illegitimate war.....". It should also be known that the Canadian Government did not participate in that war because it sided with the United Nations in their determination that the war was illegitimate. So if the war was not justified, can Hinzman claim refugee status for being forced to do something illegal by his government, with dire repercussions if he did not comply? I think his argument has a chance.

If Hinzman fails to get refugee status, he and his family will be sent back to the U.S. where he will be immediately arrested and charged with desertion. His family will have to make due without him and live with the stigma that will follow them during his trial and after. Make no mistake, the American Government and military will do anything and everything to put Hinzman away and out of sight for a very long time. Hinzman and his argument is an embarrassment for the U.S. Government and military and one could argue that they don't want any part of Hinzman - especially at this time - but if he is deported back to the United States, they will have no choice but to act. The argument carrys even more weight considering the criticism of the prison guards in the prisoner abuse scandal that following orders was not "good enough" when ordered to do something grossly illegal. How strange that Hindzman will use the international community to justify his actions under that same umbrella. His own government does not consider the action "illegal" and a court in the States probably would not accept that argument; but the argument may have merit in a foreign court.

All very interesting and we will of course update this story as the events unfold; but there is another story hidden in this story, a personal one. Since I live in Toronto, I have a pretty good idea where his family is staying and and thus the possibility exists to have an in-depth interview with the man. I was very excited about this opportunity initially, but then very sober thoughts cropped up. Hinzman is almost a "cause celeb" in certain circles having been part of Michael Moore's "web site of the week" and so on. He has his own web site and has produced flyers and even a pamphlet regarding his situation. I think an in-depth interview would either be unwise for this man as you never know what innocuous statement could prejudice his case, and by the fact that he is probably already "media savvy" and his handlers may give nothing that is not already available. Our venue exists to give a voice to the little man. We have complied with his wishes by updating his story and providing the link to his web site for further information. There is much information available to those interested; especially his Quaker religious leanings that he embraced after joining the military, that influenced his application for "conscientious objector status" when he was sent to Afganistan; and why this application was rejected (because he claimed that if he was attacked.....he may not be able to turn the other cheek). Not the sterile "cut and dry" philosophical argument many would have hoped for, but then this is real life and always complicated by all sorts of events that have impact on any particular case.

This story will play itself out in the upcoming months ahead, and we at Fortress Of Freedom will continue to follow this story. Stay tuned.....


Jeremy Hinzman's Website: http://www.jeremyhinzman.net




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