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Robin Long is one of several U.S. Army deserters who sought asylum in Canada because of his opposition to the Iraq war and became the first of those to be deported to the United States after being rejected for refugee status. He was deported from Canada on July 15, 2008.〔〔See also: Robin Long v. Canada (MCI & MPSEP), IMM-3042-08 (July 14, 2008), Justice Mactavish〕 In July 2008, the ''Toronto Star'' quoted Bob Ages, chair of the Vancouver-based War Resisters Support Campaign who said that since the time of slavery, Canada has been known as a place of asylum, and Long's removal marks the first time an army deserter has been deported from Canada to the United States〔 The ''Globe and Mail'' also reported this quote from Ages: :"Mr. Long's deportation would be a ... precedent for Canada, especially given our history of providing sanctuary for war resisters, over 100,000 draft dodgers and deserters during the Vietnam era." ==Long's background== At the time he voluntarily enlisted in July 2003,〔 Long believed that his country was justified in going to war in Iraq, his lawyer Shepherd Moss said at the court hearing to halt the deportation of July 2008. Long intended to train as a tank commander. "He wanted to go to defend his country", his lawyer stated.〔 Long trained for two years at Fort Knox in Kentucky. His perspective changed while in training at the Army base at Fort Knox. After hearing that weapons of mass destruction had not been found in Iraq, Long thought the U.S. had no reason for being at war. Also, in 2004 he was troubled by evidence of abuse of Iraqi detainees that came out in May 2004, according to his lawyer, Shepherd Moss, in July 2008〔 Long concluded the abuse was systemic and condoned by the U.S. administration, Moss said. After some soul-searching, Long decided he would not go to Iraq and would not participate or be complicit in what he believed were war crimes, the lawyer said.〔 Long reportedly decided that he didn't want to go to Iraq after talking to people who had been there: ''"These people came back and were telling these horrific stories and our superiors were egging people on, some people were actually volunteering to go over there and it just seemed like justified homicide"'', he said in the interview. ''"It didn't sit right in my stomach. I morally couldn't do it."'' Long was ordered in March 2005 to report to Iraq for service.〔 In 2005, he left his military base in Colorado Springs, and came to Toronto.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Robin Long」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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