Jeff Shantz, Toronto
December 6 marked the opening of asylum hearings for US war resister Jeremy Hinzman, who deserted the army because of his opposition to participation in the assault and occupation of Iraq. Hinzman was among the first of a growing number of US soldiers who have fled to Canada rather than take part in the US government's imperialist occupation of Iraq.
After hearing that his unit, the 82nd Airborne Division First Brigade, was scheduled to depart for Iraq earlier this year, Hinzman along with his partner Nga Nguyen and now two-year old son Liam, left the US for Canada. All three have filed claims for asylum. They had initially discussed several options including staying in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where the unit was stationed and facing the repercussions of disobeying the deployment order, going AWOL or leaving the US.
During his hearing Hinzman explained his decision: "I was faced with being deployed to Iraq to do what the infantry does, kill people, and I had no justification for doing so. I didn't think I could go."
He also told the Immigration and Refugee Board that he had begun to question his decision to join the army two years earlier when, during training, recruits were encouraged to repeat chants about "raping and pillaging a village" and to shout enthusiastically about blood during bayonet practice.
During the lead up to the attack on Iraq, Hinzman concluded that the war was outside of the soldier's oath to "defend and uphold the constitution of the United States" and Iraq offered "no such threat". He, like others, found Washington's justifications for war to be baseless: "They said there were weapons of mass destruction. They haven't found any. They said Iraq was linked to international terrorist organisations. There haven't been any links."
Hinzman stated forcefully his belief that going to war in Iraq "without any defensive basis" was illegal and noted that he had been taught that he had an "obligation" to disobey an illegal order.
Incredibly, Brian Goodman, who is presiding over Hinzman's hearing, has already ruled that the illegality of the Iraq war and occupation is irrelevant to the case. The board will only consider whether Hinzman faces a "well-founded fear of persecution" in the US due to his political beliefs or his position as a conscientious objector. The board may also offer asylum if it decides that Hinzman faces cruel or unusual punishment in the US, and is therefore "a person in need of protection".
The outcome of Hinzman's case has serious implications for the several others that follow. A solidarity movement has emerged within Canada to house and support resisters who have asylum applications pending, as well as to assist other soldiers seeking to stand against their government's murderous policies. As the US army extends its efforts against Iraq, mobilising reservists and recalling veterans, as well as initiating talk of re-instating the draft, channels for bringing resisters into Canada will become, as during the Vietnam War, increasingly important.
The significance of Jeremy Hinzman's trial is reflected in the fact that the hearings were opened to the public in response to media requests.
From Green Left Weekly, December 15, 2004.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.