Rodney WATSON - US Military Man has been taking Refuge in Canada, his Crime - AGAINST the WAR!!

Two years ago Rodney Watson took refuge in Vancouver Canada. He lives in a church on East Hastings street while his life hangs in the balance.

He has a wife and child and is facing deportation from CANADA back to the US where he will face Desertion Charges, which in the US army carry severe penalties.

Why is he taking refuge in Canada?

Rodney Wilson is one of the few soldiers who has spoken out AGAINST the Iraq war. He speaks about what he has seen and what the government don't want the public to see. He joined as a cook hoping to feed the Soldiers but instead he was forced to search civilians for bombs and weapons.


For TWO years the Canadian Government have been trying to deport him but with help from local Canadians and a legal team they have been fending off deportation. But now the case has moved to a higher court and his fate hangs in the balance.

This is what happens when you sign up to serve your country but then realize that the LIES you were told are now real.

Here are a few articles on him from local Vancouver Paper:

Iraq War resister Rodney Watson

Those who live in Vancouver Canada can add there name to the growing support for Rodney to be given Permanent Residence in Canada.

Rodney joins around 40 other War resisters currently taking refuge in Canada!!!!!

Then he should have done some homework before he enlisted. He chose to enlist and then when push came to shove he ran to Canada. What reactions are you looking for with this thread? Sympathy for Rodney? Outrage that he's actually being held accountable for his legal obligations? He's a deserter and a coward and he broke the oath he took when he enlisted. He deserves what he gets and I hope he serves as an example to anyone who takes an oath of service and then runs out on his squad mates. In short...I hope he rots.

Originally posted by KILL_DOGG
Then he should have done some homework before he enlisted. He chose to enlist and then when push came to shove he ran to Canada. What reactions are you looking for with this thread? Sympathy for Rodney? Outrage that he's actually being held accountable for his legal obligations? He's a deserter and a coward and he broke the oath he took when he enlisted. He deserves what he gets and I hope he serves as an example to anyone who takes an oath of service and then runs out on his squad mates. In short...I hope he rots.

No. As a human you have the right to choose when all the facts are presented. When he saw the wrongs on the War he chose not to be part of it.

If anything he manned up. Resisted. Unlike someone like you he is not a coward. Its easy to say I do such and such because its my job, but to actually say NO when things are wrong takes guts.

Personally I hope you and your....rot!

reply to post by Six6Six


You're avoiding the issue that he's an oath breaker and a fugitive. That doesn't take courage, any idiot can break the law. It's those of us who stand up for our country and aren't afraid to spill a little of our own blood to ensure our families get to sleep safe at night that don't need to spout off about our own courage. To quote a great movie:

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

And I really don't give a flip if you think I'm a coward or not, I uphold my obligations and I don't break the oaths that I swear. You don't have what it takes to judge me and it'll take a hell of a lot better than you to see me rot.

reply to post by Six6Six


No. As a human you have the right to choose when all the facts are presented. When he saw the wrongs on the War he chose not to be part of it.


I'm sorry, is there a sanitized war going on somewhere else where there are no wrongs..? What an ignorant comment.





Having your MOS changed when you hit the ground has got to suck big time, but I find his stance a little disingenuous...he signed up, wasn't drafted, and if he really thought that his time in service was gonna be just to 'cook', shame on him...


And becoming a mouth piece for the anit-war movement after volunteering is crap...


Buyer Beware seems fitting for this situation...if he really wanted to lend a hand without having to get dirty, he could have volunteered to serve mess at the local VFW.


And as for deporting him back to the U.S., Canada can keep him...

When you enlist in the army, do you have a choice as to which "job" you get to perform? I know there are many different jobs involved in the armed forces but how does that all work? Just for clarification. Thanks.

He's a coward, he DESERTED his comrades, he deserves the HARSHEST punishment there is for this.
I was a cook in the Army as well, but FIRST and FOREMOST, youre trained to be a SOLDIER, pick up a weapon and repel the enemy. He trained with the M16 before he trained with a spatula.
I hope next time he serves chow, its to fellow inmates at Ft Levanworth

The wars started in 2001, he enlisted in 2005 - he didn't know what he was getting into, by then?

Pfft.

Deserter.

Which oath?

The oath to shoot at anyone the commander says to?

The oath to consider civilians as enemy combatants if they are anywhere near the hot zone?

The oath to hate citizens and look at them as a lower class than soldiers?

The oath to spread propaganda and lies among the population to lead us into wars?

I know you aren't talking about an Oath to the Constitution, because that died a long time ago.

Originally posted by HomerinNC
He's a coward, he DESERTED his comrades, he deserves the HARSHEST punishment there is for this.
I was a cook in the Army as well, but FIRST and FOREMOST, youre trained to be a SOLDIER, pick up a weapon and repel the enemy. He trained with the M16 before he trained with a spatula.
I hope next time he serves chow, its to fellow inmates at Ft Levanworth

I have nothing but praise for those who realize their folly and desert the imperialist machine of wholesale death.

Nothing but praise.

I would love to see everyone in every military on Earth all desert tomorrow. I know it won't happen but it would be cool.

reply to post by Six6Six


Full support from Canada.

FULL SUPPORT FROM TRUTH AND PEACE.

The violent dominant masters HATE guys like this. This kind of action is a TOTAL threat to their scam of authority and power.

They want to make an example out of him to SCARE other people into their plan of WWIII. Time to stand up to them and tell them NO MORE WAR! DONE.

And you suckers who do not have the courage to stand up to PEACE, you live in a violent hell. Just STOP. STOP. Freedom does not come from killing people. That is why you are so angered by this story. You are mad that you've been tricked into supporting violence and you insist on taking other people down with you. Well come on over to the side of PEACE. Saying NO to violence does not make you a coward. RUN away from it. There is NO peace in it. There is no HONOR in it.

The coming war is NOT about freedom. It is NOT about security. It is about VIOLENT domination. So don't bother trying to tell people otherwise. It doesn't work anymore.

You are loved. You are forgiven. You are needed. Fight the good fight. Stand up for PEACE.

Originally posted by muzzleflash

Originally posted by HomerinNC
He's a coward, he DESERTED his comrades, he deserves the HARSHEST punishment there is for this.
I was a cook in the Army as well, but FIRST and FOREMOST, youre trained to be a SOLDIER, pick up a weapon and repel the enemy. He trained with the M16 before he trained with a spatula.
I hope next time he serves chow, its to fellow inmates at Ft Levanworth

I have nothing but praise for those who realize their folly and desert the imperialist machine of wholesale death.

Nothing but praise.

I would love to see everyone in every military on Earth all desert tomorrow. I know it won't happen but it would be cool.

It can happen. It's as crazy as world war III. So start hoping for Peace now.

For me this is a big issue.

People are only now just waking up and realizing that the whole 9/11 thing MAY have been conducted by those in power.

It takes years of research and speaking to people like those on ATS for the whole picture to become apparent.
Whether he deserted or not is neither here nor there, he should HAVE the choice to leave when he sees fit not when someone else sees fit.
And too those who call him a deserter most of you are unemployed and no use to society.
I used to be PRO government. PRO for all power to be in the hands of government and not in the hands of civilians like yourselves.


I changed my view and my view on 9/11 by researching and talking to people. Not OVERNIGHT but just recently in the last few years slowly but surely my view is changing. .
Government has lied and therefore the contract between a man and the US army should be void. You constitution that most people keep spouting about protects people from Tyrannical government.
So Rodney should of been allowed to leave. But he was not so he had to leave on his terms.
Wake up clueless people.

Originally posted by rwfresh
reply to post by Six6Six

 

And you suckers who do not have the courage to stand up to PEACE, you live in a violent hell. Just STOP. STOP. Freedom does not come from killing people. That is why you are so angered by this story. You are mad that you've been tricked into supporting violence and you insist on taking other people down with you. Well come on over to the side of PEACE. Saying NO to violence does not make you a coward. RUN away from it. There is NO peace in it. There is no HONOR in it.

The coming war is NOT about freedom. It is NOT about security. It is about VIOLENT domination. So don't bother trying to tell people otherwise. It doesn't work anymore.

You are loved. You are forgiven. You are needed. Fight the good fight. Stand up for PEACE.

Thank you for the sane and logical comments.

Come over to the side of peace and liberty everyone.


I don't care what rules have to be broken, do the Right thing! It's worth every punishment in the world to do the Right thing! Justice is costly but it is invaluable.

Originally posted by muzzleflash

Originally posted by HomerinNC
He's a coward, he DESERTED his comrades, he deserves the HARSHEST punishment there is for this.
I was a cook in the Army as well, but FIRST and FOREMOST, youre trained to be a SOLDIER, pick up a weapon and repel the enemy. He trained with the M16 before he trained with a spatula.
I hope next time he serves chow, its to fellow inmates at Ft Levanworth

I have nothing but praise for those who realize their folly and desert the imperialist machine of wholesale death.

Nothing but praise.

I would love to see everyone in every military on Earth all desert tomorrow. I know it won't happen but it would be cool.

Well Said. No wars could be fought so easily.

Second line

Originally posted by Six6Six
He has a wife and child and is facing deportation from CANADA back to the US where he will face Desertion Charges, which in the US army carry severe penalties.

Yeah, he'll have to give back his uniforms, pay back a few benefits, and he'll never get a federal job or wonderful VA health care. What draconian monsters we Americans are. He might, maybe, but probably not, do up to a year in prison--which is less time than he spent squatting in the back of a Canadian church. But if he hires a lawyer, I doubt he'll even get a punitive discharge. Just an administrative discharge and a goodbye. If you have visions of firing squads dancing through your head, sorry to disappoint, but that doesn't happen. The ammunition costs more than simply processing someone out.

Why is he taking refuge in Canada?

Rodney Wilson is one of the few soldiers who has spoken out AGAINST the Iraq war. He speaks about what he has seen and what the government don't want the public to see. He joined as a cook hoping to feed the Soldiers but instead he was forced to search civilians for bombs and weapons.

He's not taking refuge in Canada because he spoke out against the Iraq War. He's taking refuge in Canada because he's a deserter, and there's a federal warrant out for his arrest. It's easier to be a martyr-bum in Canada than it is to be just another less-than-honorable discharge in the US. In Canada, he's important, he has supporters, he has lawyers, powerful people are concerned about his fate. In the US, he'd be one more unemployable welfare recipient.

For TWO years the Canadian Government have been trying to deport him but with help from local Canadians and a legal team they have been fending off deportation. But now the case has moved to a higher court and his fate hangs in the balance.

Canada can keep him. He would just be a drain on our economy.

reply to post by projectbane


You must be as clueless as you sound.

And too those who call him a deserter most of you are unemployed and no use to society.

Are you sure youre not describing yourself?
You most likely live in your parents basement sitting on your computer having NEVER served a day in the uniform

Originally posted by LadySkadi
The wars started in 2001, he enlisted in 2005 - he didn't know what he was getting into, by then?

Pfft.

Deserter.

Sorry are you writing this message from Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya?

Thank God he didn't have to go over there and kill people and destroy his life. Thank God he figured it out in time.

reply to post by rwfresh


Figured out that he could run? hide? live off the good graces of others?
Stand up guy.