By Russell Brown

As the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan show no signs of ending, the death tolls of innocent civilians and soldiers continue to rise. The wars are not going well for anyone. Many war resisters from various military branches who have decided that they cannot fight in wars they don’t believe in are being persecuted for their desertion.

Kimberly Rivera recently had a hearing in Toronto aimed at deciding whether or not she would be deported to the US to face court martial. Although we all thought it went well, she had the same judge Jeremy Hinzman had for his unsuccessful hearing. Kimberly could be facing four or five years in prison and separation from her family. “I shouldn't have to destroy my family for deciding not to destroy somebody else's family,” she recently said.

We all wait with our fingers crossed. Canadian supporters had a vigil at the courthouse before the hearing. Courage To Resist presented 6,000 signatures to the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco (after a vigil on the same morning for American supporters) asking the Canadian government to give refuge to Kimberly and other War Resisters.

Here in the States, the Army dropped its court-martial against Trevor Loope and gave him an administrative discharge. He will still receive his VA benefits and treatment for his PTSD.
Down in Texas, Afghanistan War Resister, US Army Specialist Victor Agosto, declared that he was going to “put the war on trial.” After serving in Iraq and educating himself about US foreign policy, he wrote on his Army Counseling Statement (a US Army disciplinary memo) back on May 1st, "There is no way I will deploy to Afghanistan. The occupation is immoral and unjust. It does not make the American people any safer. It has the opposite effect."

On another Counseling Statement dated May 18, Agosto wrote: "I will not obey any order I deem to be immoral or illegal." In an interview with Truthout, Agosto said he stands willing to face the consequences of his actions: “Yes I’m fully prepared for this. I have concluded that the wars (in Iraq and Afghanistan) are not going to be ended by politicians or people at the top. They’re not responsive to people; they’re responsive to corporate America. The only way to make them responsive to the needs of the people is for soldiers to not fight their wars. If soldiers won’t fight their wars, the wars won’t happen. I hope I’m setting an example for other soldiers.”

As resistance by soldiers like Victor Agosto increases in the military, we need to step up our assistance to the War Resisters and their families and increase our resistance to growing militarism.

Visit www.adoptresistance.blogspot.com for more information.