Deserters, Germany, and Occupation
January 30th, 2009 | by Sqotty |For several years now the Left has been demanding an end to the “occupation” of Iraq but have been mute on the 60+ year occupation of Germany. Now I know why. From FoxNews:
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 cell phone and friends.
Best of all from his standpoint, he isn’t back in Iraq.
“I’m having the time of my life,” says Shepherd, the only American bunking at a refugee-processing center in southern Germany.
The U.S. deserter entered uncharted legal territory on Wednesday, when Germany began 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.
Shepherd could wind up in a U.S. jail if his application is rejected, but a favorable ruling could open a new escape hatch for Americans stationed in Germany who want to avoid combat duty in Iraq. About 38,000 American soldiers are stationed in Germany, a key logistical hub for the U.S. Army.
We’ll set aside the fact that Shepherd, like all other deserters from our Armed Forces, belongs in prison and focus on Germany, the EU, and the legal precedent this could set.
As noted in the article, the EU allows for deserters to apply for asylum if they are deserting from a war that is deemed unlawful. Question: how does a country determine what wars another country is fighting are lawful or not? This is a very dangerous situation, and should Germany rule in the deserter’s favor, will have global ramifications as it means that any country can now determine if another country’s wars are lawful or not.
Would a similar court find WW1 unlawful, at least for those participants outside of the immediate arena where it started (Austria-Hungary, etc., which means the participation of Germany, France, Russia, England, Italy, Turkey, and a host of others was unlawful)? How about WW2 with Germany and Russia invading Poland, or the response of France and England to that invasion? Would the Korean War be considered unlawful, at least for the Communist nations that instigated it? How about Iraq’s war on Kuwait in the ’90s? Iraq-Iran War? Soviet invasion of Afghanistan? Kosovo and the U.S. participation there? How about future wars? What happens should Germany march on France again?
How are these nations that declare, through some judicial system, enforce their will upon warring nations should the Hague determine a war is unlawful?
Better question: what should the U.S. response be to Germany and the E.U. should they rule in the deserter’s favor and call the war in Iraq “unlawful”?
Okay, there I have an answer: End all U.S. “occupations” in Europe. Maybe keep a few air bases open in England, our staunchest ally in the region. But we should immediately remove all U.S. military forces, their families, and any civilian support personnel from all E.U. nations immediately, and they can keep any and all U.S. deserters. Except for the U.K. There we should stay so long as they welcome us.
Of course, Obama doesn’t have the guts to do that. And the E.U. would cry “foul” as it will remove billions of U.S. dollars from their economies. However it is something that should be considered. And probably done. Even though Putin and the new Soviets would love to see us pull out of the bulk of Europe.
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