U.S. war deserter may appeal Canada deportation
Source: Canadian Press
A U.S. soldier facing deportation after fleeing to Canada to avoid the war in Iraq said Friday that her biggest fears are being separated from her children and being sent to prison upon her return to the United States.
Kimberly Rivera, who has lived in Canada for five years with her husband and four children, was issued a deportation order earlier this week. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has given her until September 20 to leave the country.
...
Rivera, a 30-year-old Army private, served in Iraq in 2006. She said she became disillusioned with the mission. She crossed the border into Canada while on leave in February 2007, after she was ordered to serve another tour there.
After arriving in Canada on leave, she applied for refugee status.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/08/31/us-war-deserter-kimberly-rivera.html
Now that Obama is president and the Iraq War is over, I think it's OK for Rivera to come home. Obama should pardon Rivera and others like her like Carter pardoned the Vietnam War draft dodgers who fled to Canada.
= new reply since forum marked as read
war is pretty cut and dry. Conscience is another issue all together. I would presume that given Pvt. Rivera had served a tour in Iraq that this is the case. It's an all volunteer service true, yet how can we judge the effect of a hostile war zone on any individual. Trained or not, some cannot deal. Cowardice, deserter, easy words for a person to throw out there. We were not there. We do not inhabit Pvt. Rivera's space. Yes the mission must be completed, that I did proudly in an unpopular war. Yet I still have space in my heart to feel, having felt all the emotions before, during and after action, that if a person cannot deal with the vagaries of war they should be given some special consideration. Just my opinion. I will not judge this person although our laws and the UCMJ will. She will have to deal with that and I hope she has a competent defense. 
