Deserter seeks asylum in Germany

Deserter seeks asylum in Germany
By Patrick McGroarty - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 2, 2008 18:04:11 EST

BERLIN — A U.S. soldier who deserted after serving in Iraq declared Tuesday he has applied for asylum in Germany.

Army Spc. Andre Shepherd said he deserted from his unit’s Katterbach base in April 2007 after returning from a six-month deployment in Iraq, where he was a mechanic working on Apache attack helicopters in Tikrit.

“We went to war basically for nothing,” Shepherd, of Cleveland, Ohio, told The Associated Press. “There’s no way I would go back for a second tour with the information that I have since received.”

Shepherd has been staying with friends in southern Germany since going AWOL and working odd jobs to support himself.

Germany should grant him asylum, Shepherd said, because of its strong opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_shepherd_germany_120208/%2e