The law
Should be applied as to regards desertion.
The added shame that this guy gets to miss out on really making a difference in the world's worst natural disaster is just a bonus.
The fact is that the work we are doing in Iraq, and the he had volunteered to do is helping the Iraqis at least as much as getting aid to the effected from the great quake.
Too bad he suffers from a character deficit that makes him miss out on both.
Ed