American Refuseniks

U.S. Marine Travis Clark says he won't go if he's deployed to fight Iraq. "I can see violence used if there was an invading army invading my people," he said. "But I'm not going to go into someone else's country and force them to defend themselves." He's part of a small but growing number of armed forces and reserve troops who are second-guessing their career choice based on a clash with what they see as the immoral values of the Bush administration regarding this war. While it's hard to tell how many soldiers will refuse to serve, the G.I. Hotline has received double the number of calls in the past month: 3,582.

The problem seems to be that recruits sign up when they're 18 years old and are relatively unformed, morally and personally. The bill of goods they get from the armed forces, it turns out, is completely different than what they thought they were signing on for:

Some callers to the G.I. Rights Hotline said they were 18 when they joined and were still forming their opinions. Others said they were persuaded to join by military advertisements, brochures and recruiters talking a lot about job skills, world travel and education benefits, and nothing about the brutality of combat, said Bill Galvin, counseling coordinator for the Center on Conscience and War in Washington, D.C., who helped answer calls.

A U.S. Armed Forces Web site, for example, asks: "Where else can you get paid to train with the best, travel around the world, make lifelong friends, and get an education?"

"Many of these people thought they were going to computer school," Galvin said. "Reservists think it's a job they do two weeks a year and a weekend a month. These people are realizing it's not about what they thought it was at all."

Soldiers like Clark may end up in jail for being true to their conscience. To learn more visit the GI Rights Hotline website or call 800.394.9544.