Anti-war soldier awaits punishment for deserting US Army

[Judi Lynn]

Anti-war soldier awaits punishment for deserting US Army
by Emily Baker
20 minutes ago

KILLEEN, United States (AFP) - US Army Specialist Mark Wilkerson went to Iraq hoping to avenge the deaths of those killed in the attacks of September 11 and to bring freedom to the Iraqi people.

He left Iraq with a sense of failure, betrayal and determination never to go to war again.

"Our mission was to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people," he said recently. "When I got there, I feel as though we were doing the exact opposite, and not 'we' as in my unit, 'we' as in an international force... In a war, we tend to treat people as criminals until they are proven innocent."

When his unit was called up to go back to Iraq and his conscientious objector application was denied, Wilkerson went into hiding. Until being absent without leave for more than 18 months created a new paranoia.
(snip/...)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060914/pl_afp/usiraqattacksmilitary

[northzax]

1. well, I'm glad he returned to face the music

it is much braver to do that than run and hide for the rest of your life. He sounds like a good man.

[BattyDem]

2. I don't think any soldier ...

should be punished for refusing to fight an illegal war. JMHO

[gratuitous]

3. Keep it up, folks

If everyone who saw this invasion and occupation as a betrayal by a corrupt administration of their trust and patriotism up and quit, there'd be a serious reckoning at the highest levels of government. Spec. Wilkerson is a hero in ways and dimensions never dreamed of by the PNAC crowd of chickenhawks.

[FtWayneBlue]

4. GI Rights Hotline: [phone]

Check it out, any who are thinking of going AWOL, deserting, or applying for CO status.

Resist illegal orders. That is part of a soldier's duty.

Remember Nuremberg.

[MGD]

5. He should have feigned homosexuality. It takes an overt act and

must be witnessed or, better yet, video taped.