Resisters of a 'dumb' war

Today's Toronto Star Editorial

To U.S. President Barack Obama, the invasion of Iraq was "a dumb war" and "a rash war." Despite George Bush's claim, Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction. And now that he is president, Obama plans to get most American troops out, as fast as he can.

This recalibration of U.S. policy offers Prime Minister Stephen Harper a chance to adopt a more humane approach to the 200 or so American war resisters who have sought refuge in Canada. Now they face deportation and prison.

One resister, Robin Long, already has been deported, and got a 15-month jail term. The U.S. military regards resisters as deserters because they voluntarily signed up to serve but then fled. A handful more have been ordered out of Canada, including Chris Teske, who planned to leave Friday, Cliff Cornell and Kimberly Rivera, a mother of three.

Others still have their cases pending before the immigration and refugee board. But Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has seriously prejudiced those hearings by calling the resisters "bogus" refugees. "The position of the government is that they don't face genuine persecution," says a spokesperson for Kenney. Apparently 15 months in jail don't count.

In light of the shift in Washington, Ottawa's inflexible stance is hard to justify. The House of Commons in 2008 passed a resolution calling on Harper to stop deporting resisters. And an Angus Reid survey last year found that 64 per cent of Canadians feel the resisters should be allowed to take up permanent residence here.

Canada took in 50,000 American draft dodgers and deserters during the Vietnam War, another dubious conflict tainted by war crimes. We should be able to find room today for 200 more people who share their new president's view that targeting Iraq was a huge mistake.