1st female Iraq war resister to be court martialed
Pfc. Kimberly Rivera fled military for Canada after serving in Iraq in 2006; became disillusioned with war, she says; faces five years in jails if convicted
The first female soldier to flee the US military for Canada to avoid the Iraq war is to be court-martialed Monday.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reports Pfc. Kimberly Rivera is charged with desertion and faces up to five years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if convicted.
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Rivera was assigned to Fort Carson's 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Colorado and served in Iraq in 2006. She says she became disillusioned with the mission.
While on a two-week leave in the US in 2007, she crossed the Canadian border after she was ordered to serve another tour in Iraq. Rivera applied for permanent residency, but Canadian immigration officials
ordered the mother of four to leave the country or face deportation.
American female soldiers in Iraq (Photo: AFP)
She was arrested last year at the US border.
A decade after the Iraq war, in which 4,500 Americans were killed and a trillion dollars expended, most US citizens believe the war was unnecessary.
A Gallup survey released in March found that 53% of Americans believe that the US made a mistake by sending its soldiers to fight in Iraq, while 42% believe it was not.
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