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Assad losing control as 10,000 soldiers desert Syrian military Scores killed in Tuesday's clashes, including 14 troops ambushed by opposition. By Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel Tags: Bashar Assad Syria Arab Spring More than 10,000 soldiers have deserted the Syrian army, sources say, with as many as half the conscripts not reporting in the last three call-ups. According to Western intelligence agencies, even though the top brass is still loyal to President Bashar Assad, lower-level officers are deserting in large numbers, and in some cases, whole units have deserted en masse. The army is considered the main factor safeguarding Assad's...

A lesbian soldier who deserted the U.S. military appealed to a Canadian judge for asylum Tuesday, claiming she was repeatedly harassed and threatened with death, then denied a discharge because her superiors wanted to send her to Afghanistan. Pte. Bethany Smith, who adopted the name Skyler James upon fleeing to Canada two years ago, took her case to Federal Court after being rejected as a refugee by the Immigration and Refugee Board. Smith's lawyer, Jamie Liew, said she knows of no lesbian or gay American soldier who has been granted refugee status in Canada or elsewhere based on sexual orientation....

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 15 (Reuters) - Canada deported on Tuesday the first of some 200 Americans who deserted the U.S. military and sought refugee status to protest against the Iraq War. Robin Long, 25, was removed a day after a Federal Court judge in Vancouver rejected his claim that he would suffer irreparable harm if returned to the United States. He fled across the border in 2005 as his army tank unit was preparing to deploy to Iraq. The Canada Border Services Agency confirmed Long's removal, but declined to give other details, citing privacy laws. Long's refugee claim had...

James Corey Glass, apprentice mortician and United States Army deserter, was keeping an unusually close eye on the text messages coming into his cellphone. He was hoping to hear that a court had blocked the Canadian government’s attempt to send him back to the United States. On Wednesday afternoon, the message came: Mr. Glass, 25, could remain in Canada while he appealed his removal order by the country’s Immigration Department. It was a welcome reprieve, he said, but well short of a guarantee that he and other deserters could make Canada their new home. The Canadian government’s effort to remove...

BAGHDAD — A company of Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions on Tuesday night in Sadr City, defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line against Shiite militias. The retreat left a crucial stretch of road on the front lines undefended for hours and led to a tense series of exchanges between American soldiers and about 50 Iraqi troops who were fleeing. Capt. Logan Veath, a company commander in the 25th Infantry Division, pleaded with the Iraqi major who was leading his troops away from the Sadr City fight, urging him to return to the front. “If you turn...

According to America's biggest news agency, the United States is facing what amounts to a desertion crisis in its military. Lolita C. Baldur of the Associated Press writes a story headlined, "Army Desertion Rate Up 80 Pct. Since '03." "Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003....While the totals are still far lower than they were during the Vietnam War, when the draft was in effect, they show a steady...

Desertion Rate Up 80% Since '03 Figures Show Military Does Little To Find Deserters POSTED: 12:42 pm CST November 16, 2007 WASHINGTON -- Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. While the totals are still far lower than they were during the Vietnam War, when the draft was in effect, they show a steady increase over the past four years and a 42 percent jump since last year. According...

An Oneonta man who helped produce a 9/11 conspiracy documentary that became an Internet hit was arrested Monday for allegedly deserting the Army. Korey Rowe, 24, a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, was picked up by deputies at about 10:45 p.m. Monday, Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr. said… Rowe was arrested on a “military warrant” that Devlin said was brought to the attention of deputies by the Oneonta Police Department, who received information from a source outside of that department… After deputies received the information from Oneonta police, they reached out to the Army, and officials from Fort Knox...

WASHINGTON - With the nation fighting two wars, the number of soldiers deserting has increased and the Army is stepping up prosecutions. Army statistics released this week show the number of desertions rose in the four years before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America prompted the Bush administration's war on terrorism. Desertions then fell for three years but they have been rising steadily again in the last three years as the increasingly unpopular campaign in Iraq has worn on.

'I'm so sick of running' Canada says no to U.S. deserter By PATRICK MALONEY, FREE PRESS REPORTER London Free Press Mon, January 29, 2007 Matt Lowell is one of the unlucky 13. That's how many U.S. soldiers have bolted their homeland in protest of the Iraq war and applied for refugee protection in Canada, Ottawa says. So far, all the claims have been rejected. Lowell, a quiet Michigan native who arrived in London by accident, just received the Immigration and Refugee Board's decision on his case. Matt David Lowell of Michigan is a deserterfrom the U.S. army who lives...

A federal appeals court is rereading cases from the Vietnam era as it considers whether to allow an honorable discharge for an Army medic who announced his objections to war on the eve of his deployment to Iraq. Appeals courts heard several cases on "conscientious objectors" during the Vietnam War draft but such appeals are much more rare in an all-volunteer military. Agustin Aguayo, who enlisted in 2002 during the lead-up to the Iraq war, is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to release him from a military prison. It is believed to be the...

The day before she was to fly to Kuwait for military assignment in Iraq, Specialist Melanie McPherson walked away from Fort Bliss, Texas, and hitchhiked home to Minnesota. "Please fly without me," said the note she left behind in her barracks locker. "I love my country. I was hoping to use my God-given talent, not just be a bullet catcher." In September, a little more than 40 days later, McPherson, 28, a graduate of Woodbury High School, turned herself in and was charged with desertion. She said her act could land her in military prison for up to eight years.

SAN DIEGO A man who deserted the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War was arrested as he entered the United States from Mexico, authorities said Friday. Victor Aguirre, 63, was wanted on a 1966 felony warrant for desertion, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection bureau. He was arrested Thursday at San Diego's San Ysidro border crossing. Aguirre will likely be taken to Camp Pendleton Marine base, about 50 miles north of San Diego, for processing and release, said Capt. Jay Delarosa, a Marine spokesman. He will likely be discharged without facing formal charges. The circumstances of Aguirre's desertion...

Nine veterans groups in California are criticizing 1st Lt. Ehren Watada for his decision to disobey deployment orders to Iraq. Watada is trying to "make himself a martyr and a hero," said Robert M. Wada, a charter president of the Japanese American Korean War Veterans. He said Watada's actions disrespect a legacy of military service by Japanese-American soldiers dating back to World War II. "No Japanese-Americans did anything like that and that is why Japanese-Americans are so upset," Wada said. "He is doing something that has never been done by Japanese-Americans." The groups expressed their outrage at Watada in a...

An Army officer who was born and raised in Honolulu is refusing to go with his unit to Iraq because he says the basis of the war is illegal and immoral. 27-year-old First Lieutenant Ehren Watada is with the Stryker unit out of Fort Lewis, Washington. Watada is the son of former state Campaign Spending Commission executive director Bob Watada. "I feel that we have been lied to and betrayed by this administration," Watada said Tuesday in a telephone interview with the Seattle Times from Fort Lewis. "It is the duty, the obligation of every soldier, and specifically the officers,...

SEATTLE - As thousands of Fort Lewis Army troops prepare to head back to Iraq, one of their officers is making a stand. A lieutenant says he is going to refuse to go, saying it's an unjust war. Anti-war groups are rallying to his defense. Lt. Ehren Watada of the Stryker Brigade writes, "I refuse to be silent any longer. I refuse to watch families torn apart, while the President tells us to ‘stay the course.’ I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression. "I wanted to be...

A B.C. man spent the weekend detained at a military base in California after being arrested for deserting the U.S. Marine Corps four decades ago during the Vietnam War. Allen Abney, who was born in the United States but became a Canadian citizen in 1977, was arrested at a border crossing on Thursday while trying to enter Idaho from southeastern British Columbia. In 1968, Abney was a 19-year-old marine when he fled to Canada because he didn't want to fight in Vietnam. He is the third marine from the Vietnam era to be arrested this month, and Toronto lawyer Jeffrey...

TORONTO (CP) - Two American war dodgers denied asylum in Canada have taken their case to court. Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey fled the U.S. Army for Canada separately in 2004, after receiving orders to join their fellow U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board denied asylum to both, refusing to acknowledge either one as a so-called conscientious objector because they didn't consider themselves pacifists despite their opposition to the Iraq war. Their lawyer, Jeffry House, wants a Federal Court judge to put their cases back before the immigration board. Jeffry House says the board made a mistake...

In his first U.S. television interview, the former U.S. Army sergeant who deserted to North Korea speaks for the first time about the abuse and control inflicted on him by the communist dictatorship over his nearly 40 years there. Charles Robert Jenkins tells Scott Pelley he Êhad a "U.S. Army" tattoo sliced off without anesthetic and was even told how often to have sex by his communist "leaders" in a 60 MINUTES interview to be broadcast Sunday, Oct. 23 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. In 1965, Jenkins was posted along the hostile border between North and South...

Seventy-three soldiers in a special reserve program have defied orders to appear for wartime duty, some for more than a year, yet the Army has quietly chosen not to act against them.

I was listening to John Batchelor Show last evening(9/28/05) and a guest mentioned that he is hearing rumors that the 250 policemen that allegedly deserted from NO PD will never be prosecuted because they did not exist, and that is why police chief quit. Has anyone heard any rumors and do you have any links to them? By the way, John Batchelor Show is the most inciteful and entertaining show on the air today. It is streamed by radio station WMAL in D.C.

Ever want to look into the mind of a Clinton-era ‘Generation-X’ slacker who ‘made a mistake’ by accepting a prestigious Air Force Academy slot and then just could not stand to serve out his 6 year military commitment? Well, the following would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad (from the standpoint of our nation). Hopefully 9-11 has somewhat cured this kind of attitude amongst the younguns. The following is the actual text of a handwritten letter left at his desk by a 24-year-old Second Lieutenant, a US Air Force Academy graduate, on the day he deserted from the Air...

– A Navy sailor turned anti-war activist was convicted Wednesday of missing his ship's movement when he refused to board the USS Bonhomme Richard as it deployed to the Persian Gulf in December. A military judge deliberated about 40 minutes before finding Petty Officer 3rd Class Pablo Paredes guilty of the count. Lt. Cmdr. Bob Klant dismissed a second count of unauthorized absence, ruling the charge was duplicative. Paredes stood at attention as the judge read the sentence, following the day's court-martial proceeding. The trial then shifted into the sentencing phase. Paredes, a 23-year-old from the New York City borough...

SAN DIEGO -- A Navy sailor turned anti-war activist was convicted Wednesday of missing his ship's movement when he refused to board the USS Bonhomme Richard as it deployed to the Persian Gulf in December. A military judge deliberated about 40 minutes before finding Petty Officer 3rd Class Pablo Paredes guilty of the count. Lt. Cmdr. Bob Klant dismissed a second count of unauthorized absence, ruling the charge was duplicative. Paredes stood at attention as the judge read the sentence, following the day's court-martial proceeding. The trial then shifted into the sentencing phase. Paredes, a 23-year-old from the New York...

ITHACA NY--The first soldier jailed for not returning to fight in Iraq discussed his struggle to participate in a war he did not believe in yesterday. Camilo Mejia spoke out against serving in a war he calls "a corporate war for oil." Mejia said it is extremely difficult for soldiers to say they disagree with war on moral grounds, as this is perceived as unpatriotic. "No one wants to make the unpopular decision and say 'This is not a good war'," he said. "Out of fear of challenging U.S. leadership, people just go along." A soldier's sense of right and...

<p>HINESVILLE, Ga. — His first sergeant called him a coward to his face. His chaplain sent him an e-mail saying he was ashamed of him. His commanders had him formally charged with desertion.</p> <p>Sgt. Kevin Benderman, who served one tour of duty in Iraq, is refusing to serve another. When his fellow soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division packed their gear and left nearby Fort Stewart, Ga., for Iraq last week, Benderman stayed home. He says he has chosen to follow his conscience, not his commanders.</p>

WEST JORDAN, Utah — A Marine who was declared a deserter days before military court proceedings stemming from an earlier disappearance from Iraq has been placed on a list of "most wanted" fugitives. A mug shot of Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun appeared this week on a Navy criminal justice Web site, which claims the missing corporal now uses the alias "Jafar." His placement on the Navy list puts him among a select group of fugitives, some of whom are being hunted on allegations of terrorism, murder, conspiracy to commit murder, indecent assault and rape.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS WASSEF ALI HASSOUN?  By Michelle Malkin   ·   January 05, 2005 08:23 PM Surprise, surprise. Wassef Ali Hassoun, the Lebanon-born Muslim Marine who claimed to have been kidnapped and then was charged with desertion, has disappeared again. From FOX News: Hassoun had been on leave with his family in West Jordan, Utah, when he was scheduled to return to Camp Lejeune (search), N.C., on Tuesday, military officials told FOX News. As of 3 p.m. EST, Hassoun's command "officially declared him a deserter and issued authorization for civil authorities to apprehend Hassoun and return him to...

U.S. Marine in Mysterious Case Declared Deserter   Jan 5, 5:05 PM (ET) By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, charged a month ago with desertion in a mysterious case in which he left his unit in Iraq only to turn up in Lebanon, has failed to return to his base in North Carolina, the Marine Corps said on Wednesday. In a statement, the Marines said that Hassoun "has been declared a deserter" after not returning on Tuesday to Camp Lejeune from authorized leave. The statement said Hassoun had been required to return to the...

RALEIGH, N.C. — Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, the Marine who was once thought kidnapped in Iraq only to be charged later with desertion, has disappeared, Marine officials announced Wednesday. Hassoun had been on leave with his family in West Jordan, Utah, when he was scheduled to return to Camp Lejeune on Tuesday, military officials told FOX News. Hassoun's family said they do not know his whereabouts, and the military began notifying civilian law enforcement of his fugitive status. The U.S. Marine Corps again listed Hassoun as a deserter on Wednesday. He had been charged in December with unauthorized leave following...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, who disappeared in Iraq in June and later turned up in Lebanon claiming he had been kidnapped by militants, was charged on Thursday with desertion, the Marine Corps said. After a five-month investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Hassoun "is alleged to have taken unauthorized leave of the unit where he served as an Arabic interpreter," the service said in a release from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Hassoun was also charged with loss of government property and theft of a 9mm military pistol. The charges will now be considered by...

No article yet. Breaking news on Fox that Hassoun, who appeared as a "hostage" in a videotape and then was found, will be charged with desertion and eventually court martialed. Stay tuned for more details as they are reported.

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

There is an article on another Internet site concerning a Soldier who is being charged with desertion. The defense is claiming that this soldier who voluntarily enlisted in the United States armed forces is now a conscientious objector. Ok, so one can sign up and swear an oath, but if ever conflict arises then our troops should just be able to bail. I am sorry but in my humble opinion this sort of rationalization could lead to chaos in our Military. It is so sad that Free Republic cannot have articles linked from certain sites who are supposedly representative of...

(Sgt. Charles Robert) Jenkins Ready for Court-Martial Yomiuri Shimbun Charles Jenkins, the husband of former abductee Hitomi Soga, has confided to his nephew that he is prepared to be court-martialed, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. Jenkins, who is accused of deserting the U.S. Army while stationed in South Korea in 1965, made the comment in a handwritten note delivered to James Hyman before he returned to his North Carolina home last Sunday. Hyman claimed in a press conference Friday in Tokyo that the Japanese government had prevented him from seeing his uncle. In the letter, Jenkins, whose full name...

  Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun made comments to reporters on July 19.ABCNEWS.com Horrible Acts U.S. Marine Hassoun Claims He Witnessed Beheadings While in Captivity in Iraq ABCNEWS.com July 19— Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, the 24-year-old Marine who went missing in Iraq last month and says he was held by terrorists, has privately told military officials that he witnessed beheadings while he was held, ABC News has learned. The beheadings horrified Hassoun and caused him to lose weight, sources told ABC News. Also, according to Hassoun, after his captors realized he was a Muslim, they treated him much worse because,...

"Timeline of Events in the Case of Accused U.S. Army Deserter to North Korea" The Associated Press Published: Jul 18, 2004 , 'A timeline of events leading up to an accused U.S. Army deserter's trip to Japan on Sunday. - January 1965: U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins, then 25, disappears while on patrol in the demilitarized zone separating North Korea and South Korea. - 1970s: Jenkins' voice is heard on anti-U.S. propaganda broadcasts blasted from North Korea across the DMZ. He is later identified as an actor in anti-American films produced by the North. - 1978: Hitomi Soga, a...

Mystery Marine in Germany for DebriefingBy David ThibaultCNSNews.com Managing EditorJuly 09, 2004 (CNSNews.com) - Did Islamic terrorists kidnap Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, or was the videotape showing Hassoun blindfolded and a sword hanging over his head a hoax staged by a 24-year-old wanting out of the military? Following Hassoun's arrival Friday at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, American officials will debrief him and try to find out the truth. Hassoun came in on a C-17 transport plane from Beirut, Lebanon and was immediately taken in a green ambulance to the medical center. Hassoun was reported missing June...

According to a report in Defense Watch, the senior Army leadership decided to break “with a longstanding tradition of arresting and trying deserters under the Uniform Code of Military Justice UCMJ),” and imposed a program effective Oct. 1, 2001, “whereby deserters are now returned to their original unit for evaluation, counseling and possible rehabilitation before punishment is mandated.”

Mr Jenkins has an extraordinary story to tell A United States soldier who has spent the last four decades in North Korea could soon be leaving the country. Charles Robert Jenkins is expected to travel to Indonesia to be reunited with his Japanese wife, possibly this month. The US considers Mr Jenkins a deserter who must face military justice, though his family has always denied this. Indonesia has no extradition treaty with the US, making it a convenient meeting place for the 62-year-old American and his family. Mr Jenkins went missing in 1965 while leading a patrol near the...

/begin my translation "Can't Stand Hunger"- Desertion Rampant in N. Korean Military Recently, desertion has become rampant among N. Koraen soldiers, which is a headache for N. Korean authorities. Kim Young-gil(alias), a N. Korean military officer who came to China on a mission to earn foreign hard curreny, told this reporter on June 24th, "The desertion of ordinary soldiers is on the steep rise at military units, due to food shortage and harsh training. In some units, it has deteriorated to the point where they worry that the military formation is in danger of a wholesale collapse." He added, "Up...

<p>On a snowbound afternoon 955 kilometres north of where the U.S. Army says he should be, Private First Class Hinzman, Jeremy D., No. XXXXXXXX*, is sitting in the sunroom of the rambling old mansion owned by Toronto's pacifist Quakers. He is describing the chants he learned in basic training.</p>

As Bush's military service re-emerges as an issue, here is what we know—and don't know When George W. Bush was running for President four years ago, stories raising questions about his Vietnam-era service in the Texas Air National Guard never got much traction. In the Republican primaries, John McCain forbid his staff to exploit the fact that while their guy was being beaten senseless in the Hanoi Hilton, Bush was safe at home, protecting Houston from foreign attack. Al Gore steered clear too. It was not until a week before Election Day in November 2000 that Gore surrogates accused Bush...

Did President Bush "desert" the military, as radical filmmaker Michael Moore insists he did? Presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark suggested during New Hampshire's presidential debate Thursday night that the facts of whether Bush ran out on his National Guard unit in 1972 and 1973 are in dispute. But in the months before the 2000 presidential election, the New York Times pretty much demolished this Democratic Party urban legend, a myth that first surfaced in its sister paper, the Boston Globe. "For a full year, there is no record that Bush showed up for the periodic drills required of part-time guardsmen,"...

  'I deserted Saddam's army' Iraq had a huge army, but only a fraction of its soldiers were killed or captured during the war. Hamed Nissam was one of those who took off his uniform and simply melted away. Hamed Nissam: "I held up a white flag and ran home" I was a tank driver defending Basra. It was a very old Russian tank, made in 1969.Because of the Americans' technological advantage, we were sure that we could not survive the war. We were horrified by the prospect of meeting them in battle. I was very afraid of being...

The American deserters in Germany will be able to ask for the political asylum Additional reason for friction between Washington and Berlin, the American deserters, according to lawyers', will be able to require the political asylum in Germany, if the United States leaves in war against Iraq without mandate UNO. Thus, according to Reinhard Marx, a lawyer recognized specialist in the right of asylum, an attack without mandate of the Security Council would be against the international law -- a point of view also advanced by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan -- and would make...