Sanctuary for war resister: Rodney Watson takes refuge in Vancouver church
October 22, 2009 | By Krystalline Kraus | http://www.rabble.ca||
The case of Rodney Watson
The latest flashpoint in the battle to keep war resisters in Canada has been the case of Rodney Watson who on Monday October 19, 2009, decided to seek sanctuary in a B.C. church rather than face deportation to the United States to face desertion charges. Watson, who is originally from Kansas City, Kansas, enlisted in the US Army in 2004 for a three-year contract with the intentions of becoming a cook since he wanted to serve the troops in a non-combat capacity.
In 2005, he was deployed to Iraq just north of Mosul, where he was put in charge of searching vehicles and Iraqi civilians for explosives, contraband and weapons before they entered the base. He was also expected to "keep the peace" by monitoring Iraqi civilians who worked on the base and fire his weapon at Iraqi children who approached the perimeter.
Full Article: http://www.rabble.ca/news/2009/10/sanctuary-war-resister-rodney-watson-t...