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US resister seeking asylum
in Canada.
30 March 2006 American Iraq war veteran seeking asylum in Canada tells court of atrocities TORONTO (AP) — A "trigger-happy" U.S. Army squad leader shot the foot off an unarmed Iraqi man and soldiers kicked a severed head around like a soccer ball, an American war deserter told a Canadian immigration and refugee board Thursday. Joshua Key, the first U.S. deserter with combat experience in Iraq to apply for refugee status in Canada, told the board he witnessed numerous atrocities committed by U.S. forces while serving for eight months as a combat engineer. Key said he was never trained on the Geneva Conventions and was told in Iraq that the international law guiding humanitarian standards were "just guidelines." "It's shoot first, ask questions later," Key told the board, which is evaluating his bid for asylum in Canada for him, his wife and four young children. Key, 27, said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and frequently has nightmares over what he witnessed in Iraq. That includes one incident in which he said he saw U.S. soldiers kick two hooded and naked detainees at a holding facility while escorting them to a grassy area to relieve themselves. Key told the hearing he joined the army for steady pay and medical coverage for his family and that he initially went to Iraq as a willing participant because he believed U.S. intelligence claims that the country had weapons of mass destruction. But Key became disillusioned with the war during his service and decided to abandon his contract with the army during a two-week leave from Iraq in November 2003. He and his family lived on the run in Philadelphia before crossing the border at Niagara Falls last March. The Oklahoma native now works as a welder in Fort St. John, British Columbia. Key said the army deceived him when he was recruited and promised him in writing that he would not be sent overseas for combat because of the size of his family. He and his wife Brandi have four children between the ages of 7 months and 6 years. Key is the fifth U.S. war resister to appear before the Immigration and Refugee Board, seeking refugee status in Canada. Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, also war resisters from the United States, are appealing the board's rejection last year for political asylum. Hinzman, 26, fled to Canada in search of asylum just days before his U.S. Army unit was to deploy to Iraq to fight in a war he says is illegal under international law. Hughey, 20, who was with the 1st Cavalry in Fort Hood, Texas, is also seeking a review of his case. He was denied refugee status in September. About 20 Americans have fled the military and applied for refugee status in Canada, according to their lawyer, Jeffry House, an American who ducked into Canada years ago to avoid the Vietnam War. He estimated as many as 200 others were hiding in Canada, waiting to see how Hinzman's case is played out before coming forward.
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