From NYMag:
U.S. officials have located the three Afghan army officers who went missing this weekend during a field trip to the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Jan Mohammad Arash, Mohammad Nasir Askarzada, and Noorullah Aminyar were apprehended at the Niagara Falls Rainbow Bridge, as they tried to cross into Canada.
The men are apparently currently in Canadian custody, after they walked up to a border patrol agent and requested asylum in America’s northern neighbor. It’s not immediately clear whether they’ll be shipped back to Cape Cod to continue military exercises, or whether they’ll be detained and returned to Afghanistan…
Law-enforcement officials said throughout that the three missing soldiers posed no threat to the general public, as participating troops had been carefully vetted. A similar incident happened earlier this month when two Afghans training with the DEA (you know, opium) walked off in D.C…
Mandatory old phart reference: The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming. Sproot!
Mike J
Niagara Falls?
Sloooooooooowly I turn….
JPL
Gotta say, Fox will at least mention that they were trying to cross the border to Canada so they could stay. hahaha Of course they won’t but it appears that they like the good life and it’s easier to stay in Canada.
C
Eric U.
ok, so am I the only one who thinks that the whole, “carefully vetted” thing should have gone out the window when they went awol?
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
“Ve are Norveegans.”
/old phart long memory/
Catherine D.
@Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason:
This old phart saw it at a drive-in as a kid in pajamas.
beth
Everyone to get to street! Old phart here too.
Mnemosyne
I was wondering this morning if they were going to try and seek asylum, but I didn’t think they would try to seek it in Canada. Smart move, I hope.
Felonius Monk
Yeah — now the Afghans are coming? Sorry, they are already here. I’ve got a blue one on the couch and a red one on the recliner.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Felonius Monk: You have red and blue dogs?
Felonius Monk
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): According to Wikipedia:
I wonder which style those three AWOLs are. I’m guessing they are the mile-a-minute types considering they got from Cape Cod to Niagara Falls in short order.
And if they walked all that way, I’d guess their “dogs” are pretty tired.
Amir Khalid
Wait. I haz a confuzed. From what country are these guys seeking asylum? Afghanistan? America?
Dog On Porch
“..as participating troops had been carefully vetted’.
Lest We Forget: Every Afghan and Iraqi soldier (2001-present) that ever turned on American armed forces by delivering violence and death had been vetted as well.
Morley Bolero
Canada’s record for granting asylum to brown people is less than stellar. These guys are fucked.
mai naem
I would do the same exact thing in these guys’ position. Just sayin’.
Mnemosyne
@Amir Khalid:
I think they’re seeing asylum from Afghanistan. They can’t seek it from the US because technically the US is good buddies with the government of Afghanistan, so they’re seeking it from Canada instead.
I’ve heard a lot of really sad stories about Afghan and Iraqi translators and other “collaborators” being murdered, so I’m guessing they probably are in fear for their lives if they return to Afghanistan.
ruemara
@Mnemosyne: pretty much this.