Update: American Deserter in Germany
It was predictable that yesterday’s post on American deserter Andre Shepherd would open a can of worms, and it did. After I posted, I googled the thing and lo and behold I found this excellent site. Connection e.V. is a German site that pronounces “International Support of Conscientious Objectors and Deserters.” Andre Shepherd qualifies as a deserter, of course, but I’m still struggling with the concept of a guy who claims he’s a conscientious objector after enlisting in the military during the middle of a war.
The site features a device called: "Send a Message to André Shepherd." Now this is a GREAT opportunity for some Merry Prankster mischief! You have to fill in some bio data, of course (that shouldn’t be too hard to invent – put in the name of your worst enemy, or maybe you know one of those annoying liberal ponytail guys.)
They conveniently forewarn you: The text can be altered or complemented. That tells me that to get your message to Andre past his censors and handlers, you’re going to have to craft your message in your best American GI slang doublespeak. For copy material, study the confession of Commander Lloyd “Pete” Bucher, Captain of the USS Pueblo, for his crimes and aggressions against the freedom-loving people of North Korea.
I understand the dynamic of blogging: I put together my post, 200 to 300 words (500 max), blast it out there and let the chips fall where they may. This particular post, however, drew so many barracks lawyers out of the woodwork I thought I was a private back in the 82nd Airborne. I feel compelled to address some of the issues brought up:
So I assume Mr. Linnane would have been a fan of the "I'm just following orders" defense at Nurenburg.
This guy compares American soldiers to Nazi war criminals. Not exactly an original thought. The thing I find odd is that the American military liberated Iraq from a totalitarian nut and his gang who ran an international criminal operation that was directly comparable to Hitler’s Third Reich.
Sure, there have been war crimes trials in Iraq. All of Team Saddam – to include the Big Guy himself – were tried and found guilty by their own people. When it was determined that American GIs had pushed the envelope a bit at Abu Ghraib, they were court marshaled and sent to Leavenworth.
It's the duty of every soldier not to follow an order he finds illegal.
This is true – I wonder if the author of this comment has sat through as much training in the Law of Land Warfare as I have. Funny thing is Andre Shepherd never claimed to have been given an illegal order. He never disobeyed ANY orders until he was back at base in Germany. Then he went over the fence for some fraulein poontang and decided to make a career out of it.
The personal insults make Mr Linnane sound like the petty coward, not the "deserter" in question.
Tell you what: feel free to drop by Fort Bragg, North Carolina anytime you wish to inspect my credentials up close and personal. I’m not difficult to find, and it won’t be the first time I defended my honor.
As the proud son of a WWII vet who served as a forward observer throughout the European front, I've always looked up to my father's service. Then again, I'm also proud of the reasons that America fought in WWII.
As if George W. Bush's misguided, miserable little adventure was anything to feel proud of . . . Americans would still be "free" even if the President had not decided to invade a bunch of piss-poor Third World countries in the Middle East.
For the record: I’m proud of what we are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m also proud of what’s going on in Pakistan, the Philippines, Horn of Africa, etc. We liberated millions. In fact, we're not doing enough - there's that thing about genocide of Christians in the Darfur, and Iran is getting more and more interesting every day now.
This legal beagle states an interesting dilemma:
Andre Shepherd's argument is that according to the Nuremberg Trials, a soldier cannot be compelled to undertake acts that violate international law . . . . . . in 2005, the German Federal Administrative Court officially declared the Iraq War violated international law, citing the assault launched by the United States as an act of aggression . . .
Does anybody besides me see the incredible irony here? Where do Germans get off claiming some kind of moral high ground? Saddam’s Iraq was a client of German industry right up to the day we rolled into Baghdad. We’re talking about the Germans here – you know; those same right-thinking people who gave the world the SS, the Gestapo, and the Stasi.
I think it’s a scream whenever Germans start squawking about violations of international law, aggression, etc. In Germany the law always says one thing and the authorities do whatever they wish - at least 50% of our manpower & equipment for the big Iraq attack launched out of our huge logistical bases located in Kaiserslautern and Ramstein and yet to date there’s been no effort to shut those bases down.
Then lastly there’s this gem:
. . . I thought long hair was fashionable
It WAS fashionable, back in the Seventies. Over in Europe the close-cropped military look is in, even amongst the lefties. Andre got his start hanging out with the longhaired punk rocker freaks and weirdos, but he seems to have since developed some discriminating taste and moved on.
. . . maggots are optional
Sure they are. Sometimes you pick them out of your rice one by one with your homemade bamboo chopsticks, and sometimes you eat them because you need the protein. Survival medicine tip: maggots can be used for cleaning out infected wounds, when you have nothing else.
Originally posted at STORMBRINGER.