Friday, August 31, 2012

Canada boots out another US Army deserter

Kimberly Rivera, an American who volunteered for the US Army in a time of war, and then decided she didn't like war, moved to Canada in 2007. She now faces deportation back to the US.

From the Toronto Sun:

TORONTO - The first female U.S. soldier to seek refuge in Canada rather than return to duty in Iraq is facing deportation, a group that advocates for her said on Thursday.
Kimberly Rivera, a 30-year-old private who served three months in Iraq and came to Canada while on leave in 2007, has been ordered out of the country, said Michelle Robidoux, spokeswoman with the War Resisters Support Campaign.

“She developed an opposition to what was going on in Iraq based on her experience in Iraq,” Robidoux said.

Rivera, who has been living in Toronto with her partner and four children, could face jail time in the United States....

I have never understood WHY you would volunteer to be a soldier in war time if you don't agree with - approve of - going to war. What did she think she would be doing? Basketweaving?
Read more on the latest claimant of the "I'm not too smart medal" here.

Army Times is also running this story here, and is worth reading for the comments if nothing else.