To the editor:
The real crimes in the case of Rodney Watson are the crimes of the Canadian and American governments. The U.S. went to war based on the lie of weapons of mass destruction and a million Iraqi's have been killed.
Seeing through those lies, thousands of brave American soldiers have refused to go or like Mr. Watson refused to return to Iraq. Some of them have come to Canada based on our long history of accepting Americans fleeing political persecution. This history goes back to the American war of Independence, and more recently resulted in tens of thousands of deserters and draft-dodgers coming to Canada during the Vietnam war.
Despite this history, and despite the fact that the majority of Canadians opposed the invasion of Iraq, successive Canadian governments have refused to let Mr. Watson and the other U.S. Iraq War resisters stay in Canada. Canada's tacit support for the war is a crime. Trying to send Mr. Watson to an American jail for obeying his conscience is a crime. The world would be a much better place if more soldiers refused to fight.
Bradley Hughes, New Westminster
