American Soldiers Deserting
Looking for information about soldiers suffering with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) I stumbled on a blog with some startling statistics. I know nothing about this blog, but from what I read it seems to be anti-Bush. The report said that 5,500 America soldiers have deserted. (http://www.sftt.us/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=4006) Most have gone to European countries and many apparently have gone to Canada.
During the Vietnam War, Canada had the largest influx of Americans ever recorded. Some used to say it was about 50,000 people, others have said it was many more. In any event, it was America’s loss and Canada’s gain. Many of these “Draft Dodgers” have chosen to remain in Canada and have greatly enriched the country with their intelligence, enterprise, and education. They have also increased the positive connection between the two countries. It sounds like a similar kind of exodus from America is happening. Again. The scale appears to be smaller but it is happening nonetheless.
In this case, according to this report, the young people are not draft dodgers but deserters from the American military. I was quite shocked by these figures. Why would soldiers desert their own military units and why could this be happening in such numbers?
I wonder if those statistics are correct, and if so why is so little being said about it in the mainstream American media. When your soldiers start deserting, whether you agree or disagree with the war being waged, things are obviously pretty serious. Like Vietnam, these issues will take years to straighten out. The question that one wonders about is how far in the sand do some leaders and perhaps some media have their heads? I follow the news fairly closely but this is the first time I have heard about anything about this. The media especially seem to be asleep at the switch.
I wonder why the powers that be would want to essentially ignore such an important issue. I know from my professional work and my personal experience that ignoring a problem does not make it go away. There is something fundamentally wrong here and it seems that very few people are interested looking for a solution.