If Afghans Are Not Willing To Fight For Their Country .... Why Should We?

FILE: Air traffic controllers from the 37th Operations Support Squadron prepare to navigate F-16 Falcons down the runway on Lackland Air Force Base. U.S. Air Force

EXCLUSIVE: 10 of 17 Afghans Who Deserted U.S. Air Force Base Remain Missing -- FOX News

Ten of 17 Afghan military deserters who walked away from a training program on a U.S. Air Force base in Texas remain at large, sources close to the situation told Fox News on Friday, and seven of the men have been accounted for.

The 17 deserters went AWOL from Lackland Air Force Base, where foreign military officers who are training to become pilots are taught English, according to a "Be-on-the-Lookout" (BOLO) bulletin issued on Wednesday.

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My Comment: I am old enough to remember the argument that anti-war protesters were using during the Vietnam war .... why should GIs fight for a country when many young South Vietnamese men had no interest to get involved.

It is obvious that many in Afghanistan are of the same mindset .... and so the question is legitimate .... if so many Afghan officers and military men are not interested in fighting for their country .... why should we?

Afghan War Unlawful, Says 'deserter'

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton went absent without leave from the Royal Logistics Corps for two years and six days. AFP / GETTY

From the Independent:

A soldier facing court martial over his refusal to serve in Afghanistan is expected to claim in his defence that the war is unlawful.

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, who appeared in court for a preliminary hearing into his case yesterday, maintains that British soldiers are dying in the interest of American foreign policy and should be brought home.

L/Cpl Glenton, 27, of the Royal Logistic Corps, did not enter a formal plea during proceedings in Wiltshire yesterday, where he was charged with desertion. He had been active in a campaign organised by the Stop the War Coalition and delivered a protest letter to Downing Street. The soldier's counsel, Hugh O'Donoghue, indicated that his client would deny the charge and may call an expert witness to give evidence on the lawfulness of the war.

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My Comment: If there ever was a media stunt .... this is it. He is not going to win his case, my bet is that he will probably kicked out of the army (dishonorably) asap.

But antiwar sentiment is increasing in the U.K., and this case will be used as a symbol for those who are opposed to the war in Afghanistan.

U.S. Deserter 'Having Time of My Life' as He Seeks Asylum in Germany

Photo: U.S. Army deserter André Shepherd, left, is seeking asylum in Germany with the help of peace activist Ulli Thiel, right. His hearing is Wednesday. Mike Esterl/ The Wall Street Journal

From The Wall Street Journal:

KARLSRUHE, Germany -- Germany has been very good to Spec. André L. Shepherd since he deserted the U.S. Army.

The 31-year-old former mechanic of the 601st Aviation Support Battalion is enjoying perks that eluded him back home in Ohio: a bed, a bank account, a cellphone and friends.

Best of all from his standpoint, he isn't back in Iraq.

"I'm having the time of my life," says Mr. Shepherd, the only American bunking at a refugee-processing center in southern Germany.

The U.S. deserter enters uncharted legal territory on Wednesday, when Germany begins weighing his request for political asylum. The case will put to the test a 2004 European Union directive requiring member countries to grant asylum to soldiers protesting unlawful wars.

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My Comment: Thousands of American servicemen killed and injured fighting against the worse of the worse human beings on the planet .... Al Qaeda, Bathists, Taliban ..... and this "soldier" is having the time of his life at the expense of the public dole.

The U.S. military is a volunteer organization. Signing up and then making excuses on why he does not want to respect his agreement with the U.S. Army is silly at best, pretty stupid and irresponsible at the worse.

If the Germans want to have him .... I say good riddance.