The BBC is reporting about Army deserters moving to Canada, which saw an influx of draft evaders during the Vietnam War. True, the number of 200 is much, much less than the thousands who moved north thirty-five years ago. But, the fact that reporting by a major news orgainzation has begun is significant.
The same report quotes the Pentagon as admitting that there have been 8,000 (.24%) desertions during our current war. Again, a lot less on both a percentage and absolute number basis than Vietnam, which saw 55,000 (3.4%) deserters. However, we must remember that we're comparing a volunteer army versus a conscripted army. Also, you should be aware that there were only 40,000 deserters in WWII when the number of troops was in the millions.
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