Corey Glass has to go…
I could have sworn that I mentioned Corey Glass on this blog in the past. But a quick search tells me I did not.
Oh well. American-born Corey Glass is a moron. He deserted when his National Guard unit was deployed to Iraq, and unlucky for him, Jimmy Carter isn’t around to give him a Presidential pardon when he reenters the US of A.
No matter what he does next, it won’t be here in Canada, that’s for sure.
TORONTO - Corey Glass, a former U.S. National Guardsman who deserted to Canada in 2006 to avoid serving in Iraq, was told Wednesday that his application to stay in Canada has been rejected.
A spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada confirmed Glass has been ordered to leave the country.
At a Toronto news conference, Glass pleaded with the federal government to support his cause.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Time’s awaisting’… Start packing. Chop chop!
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:00
I’m not sure you realize the full extent of this war, but when this man joined the “National Guard”, and I use the term VERY loosely, he was told the only way he would be in combat was if there were troops occupying his country. Unlike many Americans, he is NOT a war monger, and joined to HELP his country when disaster strikes (the New Orleans flood for example). He wanted to HELP people, not harm them. Perhaps you should so some research before judging him. This man was in Iraq and saw MANY activities there that are considered illegal under not only Canadian law, but United States as well. Murdering the innocent is not what he was there to do. Anyone that has been to Iraq, or personally knows anyone that is there or has been since this nonsense started will agree.
May 25th, 2008 at 10:10
I’m glad Canada is sending him back home to face the music. I hope that we stop being the dumping ground of draft-dodgers. What happened during the Vietnam War was shameful. Why we allowed cowards to move in is beyond me. What kind of reponsible citizens could they become here if they refused to fulfill their duties at home? I could never understand USA either to offer them an unconditional amnesty. To see those people come back home free of any blame must have hurt the Vietnam veterans very much. Also the families who had lost a soldier. By the way half of those draft-dodgers chose to stay in Canada. Nice immigrants we got there!!!!!!!
May 25th, 2008 at 21:51
The National Guard is expected to fire on human beings when ordered to.
It’s part of the job. You can sugar-coat it all you want.
The man signed up, I didn’t force him to become a National Guardsman.
Let’s not forget that Canada, through it’s Legal System, has chosen to kick him out. We shouild at least respect Canada’s Legal System to make suck decisions on it’s own territory.
May 26th, 2008 at 22:22
I don’t mind about Vietnam, as I am against drafts in general. Especially to send people to Vietnam. It’s not like we were talking about WW2 or something. But even then, the military protects our freedoms. And part of being free is…well…not being drafted.
If someone did not want to go, then it doesn’t matter what I or anyone else thinks of them, they shouldn’t have to go.
BUT.
If someone joins…What did Cory THINK he was going to be doing???
PS: The NG does not guarantee you anything about not deploying. And hey, Tommy?
Name me a war…any war…go ahead and pick…That DIDN’T have all the illegal stuff going on in Iraq right now eh??
May 27th, 2008 at 8:52
Maybe Fidel Castro did everything legally as he brought forth the revolution… And Che Guevara didn’t kill people in three different countries.
Good point there Joel. Nobody likes conscription, even in Switzerland and Belgium where it’s not as necessary as it is in Israel. Suspending freedom to ensure security, it damages lives and creates resentment.
May 28th, 2008 at 0:07
You said it…In Israels case, it is neccessary. All of their neighbours have attacked them, and actually pledged genocide against them in so many words.
We do not have threats requiring that level of mobilization. Neither does the US.
And Vietnam was nothing that required people being forced to go.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:33
How about you watch this: LINK.
That should answer most of your “why did he join”, “what did he think was going to happen in the National Guard”…questions.
As for illegal activity, just because it’s happened in the past doesn’t make it ok to happen now. Slavery used to be legal.
If you want to talk legality, brush up on your laws. This nonsense in Iraq has been deemed an illegal occupation for quite some time now. Canada did not send troops into combat in Iraq because it was not sanctioned by the United Nations. Since we didn’t join the war, we should support the soldiers who refuse to participate in this illegal and immoral war. The majority of Canadians did not support this war. The Canadian government did not support this war.
James was told when he was signing up by the recruiter that he would not be killing anyone, unless their were troops invading American soil. Verbally. Told while signing up. It wasn’t gauranteed. He was told that by the recruiter. Blatently lied to.
Here are a few key points I wanted to make to you, you can see the full articles here
http://www.resisters.ca/
“Last December the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Citizenship & Immigration passed a motion calling on the Canadian government to “immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members […] to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada; and … the government should immediately cease any removal or deportation actions … against such individuals”.
****”During the period of 1965-1973, more than 50,000 Americans made their way to Canada, refusing to participate in an immoral war. At the time, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau said: “Those who make a conscientious judgment that they must not participate in this war… have my complete sympathy, and indeed our political approach has been to give them access to Canada. Canada should be a refuge from militarism.” ****
U.S. war resisters face imprisonment, harsh treatment and even the death penalty if returned to the United States. No one should face this punishment and persecution for following international law and refusing to participate in violations of that law.
PLEASE don’t lose sight of the fact that this is a real person we’re talking about here. He has a real life, real friends, real feelings. He bleeds the same as you and I.
May 29th, 2008 at 3:02
All Cory had to do was 5 seconds of research. Google an NG unit. See that they are in Iraq. Talk to a serving soldier. Not a recruiter. They are the best pillow talkers in the world, no matter what country you are in.
Slavery being formerly legal is a straw man arguement. The fact is, regardless of the legality, Iraq is a war. Bad things happen in wars. It doesn’t matter which war you pick, it is going to happen. Your or my opinion on Iraq is not a factor in that equation whatsoever. In Normandy we were shooting 16 year old Hitler Youth kids who tried to surrender, because they killed us. Does that mean I coulda left the Army? What about the couple hundred rapes that happened in France? Or shooting French citizens because it looked like they were the enemy? Or just cause someone might have felt like it?
That does not make those things okay. But it makes them a part of armed conflict. People don’t say war is hell because it is catchy. We say it because war IS hell. We want it to be some sanitized video game right now where kids don’t have bombs landing in their houses. But it still will.
As far as the UN is concerned, they do not have to sanction a war for it to be legal. If you think so, then that’s great. I don’t. The UN is such a deeply and fundamentally flawed organization, we could make a separate thread about that. What the Third World Debate Club thinks about much we do, doesn’t bother me. Who put so many conditions on the way Iraq was to be ran post 9/11? The UN. who was gettin shot at enforcing those laws? The US. Who wasn’t doing anything about it? The UN.
Right or wrong, the US is at war in Iraq. And home boy joined the military during a time of war, and believed a lie (a regrettable one, for sure) that could have easily been disproven. Maybe when you join the army, you should…I dunno…research it?
Vietnam was a draft. Cory was not drafted.
May 29th, 2008 at 8:14
Nonono, bro.
Research is BAD. I came in contact with a guy in Arizona who did two tours in Iraq. I had many interesting conversations with him and my research led me to SUPPORT OUR TROOPS. I learned details on how it’s a damn hard job, that they’re trained to do that hard job and that all SNAFUs aside, they’re doing a damn good job.
And considering the number of US troops in the sandbox, I can’t help but think that there have been very few SNAFUs.
Nah,if you want to bash our troops, research is right out. I’m against it.
May 29th, 2008 at 9:49
I’m not bashing the troops at all. I have many friends there and support what they are doing for the most part. But I DO want them all to come home alive. I want this “war” to be over with already. Keep in mind, some soldiers want to be there, some don’t. I’m terrified every time I turn on the TV and see another Canadian soldier has been killed. I dread the day that I stand on the bridge over the 401/”Highway of Heroes” as someone close to me rides in a coffin under me.
Everyone has made a decision or two they regret, we’re human, does that mean they should be punished for making a mistake? Especially making a decision based on false information? All he wanted to do was help people. Turns out that wasn’t what the NG had in mind for him. If he had known that he was going to be shipped out he never would have joined. Plain and simple. He didn’t want that to be a part of his life. BUT, he made his choice and when he found out it was not what he thought it was, he wanted out. They wouldn’t let him so he went to Iraq for 5 months and when he couldn’t handle it anymore, he left on his own accord. Could you imagine 5 months where every day you had to go out on patrol and fight for something you did not believe in? Killing people who you felt were innocent? Men, women AND children? Can you imagine how that would make you feel? Needing to get out of there doesn’t make him a bad person. In fact, it’s made him stronger and I respect him more then anyone I have ever known, and am going to miss him in my life. As far as I’m concerned we need more people in this world just like him. We need people who will stand up and fight for what they believe in. Even though it put his life as he knows it in jeopardy, Corey Glass stood up and spoke out about what he belives is morally wrong. I applaud him.
What I’m trying to say is regardless of a persons views, it’s theirs. We need to respect that everyone has a different viewpoint on every single situation and circumstance. We can never know what it is like to BE that other person, to SEE what that person has seen, to DO what hat person has done. We have to stop being such hardasses and forcing our beliefs down other peoples throats. If he doesn’t want to kill he shouldn’t have to. Plain and simple.
I don’t want to work at McDonalds, so I don’t. Does that mean because people need to be fed I should be punished too? I just don’t feel it’s right to punish someone for not wanting to slaughter people they feel are innocent.
As humans we have no right to criticise someone because of their beliefs, we’re better then that.
No matter what the government says, freedom of choice is a basic human right. No one should be able to take that away from a person.
May 29th, 2008 at 13:05
Well, you never signed a contract to work at McDonalds. You never volunteered to do a job. Misled or not, he signed his papers. How many other guys who didn’t realize how hard the war was going to be wouldn’t have minded coming home, and didn’t ditch their brothers in arms like Corey did?
If Corey has killed people, then his job must be a combat MOS right? Why sign up as a combat infantryman if he didn’t want to kill anyone? Did he actually kill women and children? Doubtful. Doubtful at best. Were they ordered to fire on innocent women and children? Doubtful there too.
He’s not being punished. He’s being held accountable to the role he volunteered to fill, and that someone’s going to have to fill.
Tammy, I know you’re not bashing the troops. And we might even have some similar views on Iraq…Ask Red here how many arguements he and I have had about it.
But it’s not about whether the war in Iraq is right or wrong, because nobody made Corey join the Army but Cory. And even then. He could be pumping fuel. He could be loading trucks. He could be a paymaster or a cook or an accountant or a boot repair technician. Just like they don’t make you join the army, they don’t make you take a job where you kill people.
The best thing that could come out of this is hopefully a bunch of people like Corey realize if they sign up they have to go. And thus do not sign up.
A pull out from Iraq? Sure. I’d actually support that. But that doesn’t mean a dude shouldn’t do 5 seconds of research when he makes a commitment as big as joining the military.
May 30th, 2008 at 16:32
Cory Glass signed a contract believing that the National Guard would be doing humanitarian work in his country and not engaging in over seas combat. He was lied to by his government. Now, you say he should have researched before getting himself into it however, citizens should not have to worry about trusting their governments especially when it comes to them volunteering to help. He should have been in New Orleans actually doing some good; instead Bush ignored his own people in need and used their aid to further an unnecessary war.
You say he is being held accountable for not fulfilling the role he volunteered for, what is so hard to grasp that he DID NOT volunteer to even leave US soil. Bush sending the National Guard to Iraq was actually a breach of the contract he signed. So he had ever right to leave.
Do you know anyone who is a deserter or currently in the army or have you ever been in the army? You peach something that you seem to know nothing about. Since he has been in Canada he has been fighting for what he believes right, he is fighting for the hundreds of others who are in his situation, he has been a contributing member of society here, and he is a better man than some Canadians.
You talk about him like some plague, he is a strong man, a great friend, a great colleague; You base your argument on what the media has given you to go on, you don’t even take into consideration that Corry is a person, and one that bled for a cause and a belief that was not his and you chastise him for taking a stand. Would you do the same to German war deserters in WW2 who refused to take part in the Holocaust, you say ‘its war’ and that seems to make it ok for you, you have never been, you don’t know them so please spare everyone the bullshit. Volunteer or draft it does not matter, what is right and what is wrong DOES take precedence over your very compelling argument that ‘its war’. I applaud him for knowing the difference and being the kind of man who would do something about it, unlike people like you who would just roll over and take it up the ass. This country is one that prides itself in doing the right thing and helping where ever needed; he did the right thing, you want to throw him to the wolves and you call yourself a Canadian.
May 30th, 2008 at 22:25
What’s the most dangerous job in a conflict area? The patrols and the checkpoints.
Two years ago, I was looking for a job, depressed, no hope for the futur. I actually considered joining the Canadian Armed Forces. I gave myself a year to think about what that meant and what I needed to know to become a soldier.
Why did I even consider it? To volonteer for patrols and checkpoints because that’s where we’re needed. That’s where our soldiers do the most good. Risking their lives is the down side, but that’s where they confront murderers who would target women and children without a second thought.
I honestly have no opinion on WHEN our troops should come back. None. What’s the rush? War is over? Armed conflicts are a thing of the past? Genocides will never happen again?
Our troops and their efforts abroad are NOT the root cause of war. They, in my humble opinion, manage the threats that will never cease to come. The day we stay home and let wars run their course on their own is when we’ll get armed conflicts in our back yards. They will come to us. They did come to us in 1993 and in 2001, considering that New York City is damn close to us when you think about it.
After six months on this path towards the army, I had a birthday. I turned 36 years old. On that day, I decided not to join the army.
I had learned something about guns, balistics, the rules of engagement, Counter-Insurgency and various details that I got my hands on.
In the end I chose against it. Even if I needed the money. I decided to stay home, where I was safe.
Perhaps that’s why I have so much respect for those who know all this and volonteer for a second, third or fourth tour of duty.
May 31st, 2008 at 15:08
Both of my best friends Are A’stan vets. Between the two of em, they are soon to have 4 tours over there. I chose law enforcement over the military, although that may change some day. Who knows.
In any case, In terms of sparing everyone some bullshit, try not to confuse the war on terror with the holocaust, please. That’s scoring as “weapons grade” bullshit on my personal detector. Corey is not quitting because he chose not to murder Jews in a concentration cam.
I’ll have a chat with a bud in the Connecticut National Guard and ask him what he thinks of the contracts he signed. Cause he knew he would be heading for A’stan.
Does anyone have a copy of the contract that Corey signed which told him in writing he would never deploy? Can anyone prove it?
Maybe he was told that. Recruiters lie. Ask anyone who has ever been in the service if a whole lot of pillow talk doesn’t happen.
I ask again. If Corey was a trigger puller why the hell did he volunteer to be a combat infantryman if he wanted to help people in New Orleans? Why join the military to do that?
Let’s cancel the order for the 2×4’s and nails before we actually go ahead and tack him up as our new martyr. He’s a kid who made some poorly thought out and uneducated life choices, and did not take the committment he was making seriously enough at all. That’s all. It’s no special circumstance for poor Corey. It’s the history of the world.
I still can’t believe you compared us and the USA to the Holocaust…
May 31st, 2008 at 18:47
Well said, sir.
“…you want to throw him to the wolves and you call yourself a Canadian.”
Hehehe. The ironic part is that the Allies fought Germany and Japan who had work camps where exhaustion, torture and death were common. Germany and Japan used the prisoners as tools for their war machine.
We fought those guys. We won.
After the war, Communist Russia turned East Germany into a police state (hey, aren’t they the good guys?) while West Germany became a prosperous democracy (US influence does good? Impossible!).
We fought those guys too. We won.
And yet today, here we are with individuals who honestly believe that in the last 60 years, our values have turned 180 degrees.
I fight these people too.
Katelyn, I agree that there are often many shades of gray on some issues, but the difference between “coward” and “hero” is obvious.
If you can’t see the difference between right and wrong, please see a physician who will direct you to corrective eyewear.
June 1st, 2008 at 19:10
My quote of the day…
Glass never personally witnessed human rights violations during his service but he “heard stories from people coming back from duty.”
Oh.
Well.
In that case!
As a military intelligence sergeant, who was he killing? How was he harming the innocent? Did he happen to give someone a papercut?
And in his 5 brutal months in Iraq, in the illegal and unjust war which we are supposed to believe is a systematic attack and violation of the rights of Iraqi people…
He never personally saw anyone’s rights being violated. But you know. He heard stories!
June 2nd, 2008 at 13:32
It’s not my place to tell you what he has, or hasn’t seen.
I WILL tell you that because of his high score test, he was assigned the role of Military Intelligence. With that said, he was witness to MANY horrific things I don’t even want to imagine.
The one and only example I will share with you is this:
Corey saw 2 children both aged 6 excited to become suicide bombers. EXCITED!
These kids couldn’t wait to grow up so they could learn how to make bombs and come to the US to detonate them and kill as many Americans as possible.
When they were asked why, do you know what they said?
“The Americans came here and killed my entire family so why wouldn’t I want them dead too?”
These “murderers” are doing what they feel is justice. Just like when the US first invaded Iraq, it was to punish terrorists…right? The Iraqis as a people are now being punished for a few bad apples. Sounds like what the Iraqis did to the Americans with 9-11, doesn’t it?
I believe it was named “The War On Terror”, was it not? Why don’t we look at it from an Iraqi standpoint? The Americans invaded their soil and started bombing whenever, and wherever they felt there was “terrorism”. But isn’t attacking and tormenting their country, essentially what the troops are there supposedly fighting against?
That hipocricy was the proverbial straw.
Regardless, Corey knew he had made a commitment, that’s why he went to Iraq in the first place. He realized he made a bad choice as soon as he realized he was lied to, but he still he went. But when someone can’t perform a duty anymore, regardless of his reasons, he should not be persecuted for it. He tried his best. What kind of society do we live in when you are punished for standing up for your beliefs?
Corey did everything in his power to do what was required of him, why can’t we embrace that fact? Why do we still say that wasn’t good enough?
We can’t possibly know what it’s like to be in his shoes, or anyone else that’s over there for that matter, supporter or not.
June 2nd, 2008 at 14:41
Just one more Corey Glass quote:
In a Toronto Star article on September 1, 2006, Corey Glass was quoted as saying: “I knew war was wrong before I went, but I signed a contract and I was going to fulfill my end of the bargain, right or wrong, and eventually my conscience just caught up with me - I feel horrible for being a part of it. If I could apologize to those people (Iraqis), every single one, I would.”
June 2nd, 2008 at 18:05
Tammy, I don’t think we’re ever gonna see eye to eye on the Corey issue, although I do hand it to ya for keepin things respectful and informative. I did enjoy talkin with you about it.
On that note, I am gonna respectfully bow out. I sincerely doubt either of us is going to cause the other’s mind to change any, and I’d rather it this way than things gettin nasty down the line.
Peace out.
July 13th, 2008 at 14:44
He was not drafted. I am an American very much against the war in Iraq and I feel that anyone who has even a small amount of common sense knows that when one signs up for military service in the US that he or she is placing their life in the hands of the government. A government that has been known to impose it’s ideology on other countries in the name of peace. He made a mistake by signing up, broke the law, and fled the country. It is not Canada’s responsibility to grant asylum. Thankfully this is the last year of the Bush administration and hopefully the beginning of the end of our illegal occupation of Iraq.
July 13th, 2008 at 15:50
Saddam is gone. Koweit is safe from invasion. The oil fields are secure. The Iraqi parliament is slow but coming along just fine. Iraqi police forces and the Iraqi army are coming along great.
God bless America. God bless the american, australian and british soldiers who went out to Iraq to make it a better place.
Iraq is hard to justify to the population as a righteous war, harder than Afghanistan. But in my humble opinion, it’s the same war. Two fronts in the same friggin war.
DARFUR may seem to be a righteous war “we” should be fighting, but let’s stop kidding ourselves. Any american troops who would land in Sudan would be called imperialist invaders.
To some people, the American troops are always wrong, never righteous. Perhaps some day you’ll understand.