The New York Times > Rancor in the U.S. Ranks: U.S. Military Personnel Growing Critical of the War in Iraq

The New York Times > International > Europe > Rancor in the U.S. Ranks: U.S. Military Personnel Growing Critical of the War in Iraq:

"'I can't go back to this war. I don't want to kill innocent people.' He talks about the constant pressure soldiers face to make decisions in the daily grind of war. Once, when a car came too close to their Baghdad checkpoint, his commanding officer ordered him to shoot, even though Anderson could only make out a man and children in the vehicle. The soldier refused. 'Next time you shoot,' his commanding officer barked.

On another occasion, the safety on his automatic weapon was all that prevented Anderson from losing control. 'I was holding a heavily injured comrade in my arms, there was blood all over the place, and Iraqis were cheering all around us,' he recalls. 'I was so furious that all I wanted to do was kill someone, anyone.'

Anderson has now applied for political asylum in Canada."