Andre Shepherd walked off base and deserted the US Army; he's now applying for asylum in Germany.
"Although my family is supporting me, they wish I'd taken a different step, because the potential for me not returning [home] causes a lot of emotional stress. I have to apologise to my parents for that." "It was the middle of the night in April 2007 when Mr Shepherd packed a few things and walked out of the gates of his American army base in Katterbach onto German soil.
"I could no longer support this illegal war in Iraq with a clear conscience," explained the 31-year-old, who had been due to return to Iraq where he had already spent six months serving as an Apache helicopter mechanic.
"It has been proved that Saddam Hussein was not a direct threat to the United States and the war is simply being waged in order for the US to gain access to raw materials in the Middle East," he said.
After almost two years spent living underground in Germany, he has now applied for asylum.
His case rests on a European Union law guaranteeing refugee status to soldiers who might be prosecuted for desertion if military service involves violating international law.
According to Mr Shepherd, that is exactly what the war in Iraq does. If sent back to the US, Mr Shepherd would be court-martialled and most likely sent to prison for a period of between six months and a couple of years.
But German politicians are wary of supporting his case.
"A soldier deserting the army because his conscience no longer allows him to carry out his military duties is clearly not a reason for him to be granted political asylum here," says Christian Democrat (CDU) politician and deputy chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Wolfgang Bosbach.
Mr Shepherd is the first Iraq veteran to apply for refugee status in Europe, and there are fears that his case could encourage some of the other 60,000 American soldiers based in Germany to desert and do the same.
Others argue that granting him asylum would damage US-German relations by effectively defining the war in Iraq as illegal." !!! How odd.
Continued here
Natty Ice, Casio, playing cards, candle holder, plaster arm, tiny bongo drum.
"I will attack you with this broom, on your 10-speed, in the KITCHEN. I am just that wacky."
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