NEWS: Soldier Flees To Canada In An Attempt To Not Go To Iraq

Eight American soldiers fled to Canada in an attempt to preserve their right to not go to war in Iraq. Cliff Cornell was one of the eight and he hopes he will be granted political asylum, rather than be forced to fight in Iraq, a war he objects. Cornell now lives in Toronto, Canada and works as a peace volunteer. He insists that he wanted a 'legal way out' but his only options were to go to Iraq or go to Canada. Cornell is currently awaiting word on his case.



I feel that Cliff Cornell has every right NOT to go to war in Iraq, but must also realize that when he signed up to the army he signed up to fight for his country. Going to Iraq is part of fighting for your country. If I personally had the choice to join the army, I would only join if I knew inside me I could go abroad to fight a war, if I felt that I may not be able to do it I wouldn't have even picked up the pen to sign my life away.

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The U.S., more often than not, is involved in a conflict around the world. So then, why do people join the army, without expecting to put their money where their mouth is?

People who are anti-war but are drafted are one thing. I say come on down (or up)! Those who actively seek out a military life and then expect to escape to a country not supporting those ideas is quite another.

Hinzman didn't get refugee status here and neither with anyone else who willingly enlisted. Sheeh, stay home and take your lumps if you refuse to go.

What actually happens when you refuse to go to war? Jail?

[edit on 28-3-2005 by phixion]

I joined the ARMY! I just wanted a college education, I didn't expect any kind of fighting or to have to serve my country, it's supposed to serve me. Isn't that what Kennedy said, or something?

Why is it considered acceptable for people to want all the benefits of a deal and feel it's their right not to have to pay for them? (In this case, you get a college education but the cost is the chance to have to fight an armed conflict). If you join the armed services without thinking there could be any fighting involved, when American troops essensially compose the entire UN peace keeping force.

On the other hand, I don't think I'd want someone that stupid and self-focused to be protecting me behind a bunker...

Court-marshal and prison me thinks.

What does he mean he has the "right" not to go to war? When you join the military you become government property, you don't even have the right to get a sunburn without facing serious repurcussions. I know one of the soldiers only joined the reserves but still, if he's a pacifist or somthing I don't see why he would join the military. This kind of thing really irks me, but then again, good ridance. If you're trying to hide from the U.S. government Canada is the last place you should go, personally you'd find me in Mexico, Australia, Sweden, or even Samoa. If you're only willing to fight for your country domesticaly then enact your constitutional rights and buy a couple guns, don't join the top contender for who you'd be defending your country against.


(please excuse my spelling, I just woke up)

Being an Air Force Veteran I understood my obligation to myself and my motherland America. If anyone who choses to live here in the U.S.A. and enjoys they way of life and the freedoms we have compared to the rest of the world, and puts his tail under his legs and runs off like a coward because he or she does not want to fight, should go on and leave the country like the coward they truely are. If a soldier refuses to fight for his country let me ask you;
Who will?
I'll be the first one to say that war and all that surrounds it is terrible because someone will always have to die. Sometimes that means the good guys. But I often remind myself that you and I would most likely not be here having this dialog if we did not kick the Germans butt in WWII, because the last thing they wanted was a populace that was able to think for itself. Or perhaps we could be basking in the warm glow of a thermonuclear detonation because we lost the Cold War with the Russian's
I thank my maker every time I go to sleep because it sure as h3ll could be much, much worse than it is.

Originally posted by phixion
What actually happens when you refuse to go to war? Jail?

[edit on 28-3-2005 by phixion]

The Govt. considers being A.W.O.L. treason which and still means they can be put before a firing squad. Most of the time depending on the severity of the charge, most get very legenthy stays in Ft. Levenworth at hard labor. It will make you wish you were dead at times I imagine. The active services have their own laws which are seperate of our civilian counterparts. It is called The Uniform Code of Military Justice or UCMJ for short. These people kick serious butt whenever they must pass a sentence. It would make the civilian justice system a walk in the park.

Originally posted by AlwaysLearning
Hinzman didn't get refugee status here and neither with anyone else who willingly enlisted. Sheeh, stay home and take your lumps if you refuse to go.

Their refugee claims are just idiotic. What are they seeking refuge from? Punishment for running away from their military committment they signed up for voluntarily? It's so damn stupid and maddening, and it's even more maddening to see signs saying "war resisters welcome here" around Toronto. NO THEY'RE NOT WELCOME HERE. And I hope people realise that they should either keep the commitments they undertook voluntarily or stay put and face the consequences for breaking them.

Don't come running to Canada and waste money so your refugee claim can be denied on the basis that it's absurd.

I think you get Court Marshaled (sp) if you refuse to go

ok i can sort of see a draftee running but someone who volenteered? it seems to me that when you volenteer you do not agree to fight the battles that you choose to fight. right or wrong you have agreed to serve your county. you agree to turn over your views to the views of your leaders. if you are given an illegal order than there is a way to deal with that, though i understand that it is hard to do.

if you do not agree that the battle is not in justice than i would sudgest trying to transfer to a unit elswhere. failing that try talking to a chaplin. but to run is treason. your friends and co-workers are counting on you, on your skills. you are a part of a team. as an old saying states. "ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do or die".

on the other hand i am not sure i want to trust my life to one who feels it is wrong to fight . he may just hesitate at the wrong time and get everyone killed. one question i have to ask is why join up in the first place, if you are not willing to lay down your life in the service to your country?

the military should require a test that tells the intent of recruits and loyalty to commitment before accepting them.

Eh, sure, if he didn't wanna fight, he shouldn't have signed up.

I hope he realizes that when you VOLUNTEER for a military, you are sacrificing most of your rights?

Then again, if it was a draft, it would be a completely different story.

However, in this situation, I do not have sympathy for these kind of people. The kind of people that sign up for all the benefits, all the while thinking they will never see the light of combat.

=/

-wD

posted by Junglejake
If you join the armed services without thinking there could be any fighting involved, when American troops essensially compose the entire UN peace keeping force.

I'm not sure if I am reading your post here correctly, so I won't jump on you (yet). Are you saying that the US supplies the entire (or even a majority) of UN peacekeepers?

[edit on 28/3/05 by stumason]