Korean Job Discussion Forums

[R. S. Refugee]

Well, this guy's certainly braver than many.



Military Officer Would Chose Jail Over a Stint in Iraq

By NEAL KARLINKSY


SEATTLE, June 7, 2007 � An Army officer due to ship out to Iraq later this month would rather go to jail than serve and complete the assignment.

"It is my duty as a commissioned officer of the United States Army to speak out against grave injustices." said 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, a member of the Stryker unit, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. "My moral and legal obligation is to the Constitution and not those who would issue unlawful orders. It is my conclusion as an officer of the armed forces that the war in Iraq is not only morally wrong, but a horrible breach of American law."

Watada is a 28-year-old Hawaii native who said he twice tried to resign his Army commission as an officer because of his opposition to the Iraq War.

He has not previously served in Iraq but is scheduled to deploy to the city of Mosul with his unit.

Watada joined the Army in 2003 and said he supported the war at the outset because he believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Since then, he said he has become convinced the Bush administration "intentionally manipulated intelligence" in order to go to war.

In an interview with The Seattle Times he said: "I feel that we have been lied to and betrayed by this administration. It is the duty, the obligation of every soldier, and specifically the officers, to evaluate the legality, the truth behind every order � including the order to go to war."

Highest Ranking Protest to Date

Watada is the most senior officer to go public and challenge his orders to go to Iraq.

Others have filed for conscientious objector status, which is an objection to all war. Watada, however, said he is not filing as a conscientious objector because he does not oppose all war � just this one.

"The wholesale slaughter and mistreatment of the Iraqi people with only limited accountability is not only a terrible moral injustice but a contradiction to the Army's own law of land warfare," Watada said.

Military lawyers said he is putting himself in substantial jeopardy. "He could face a charge of 'Missing Movement by Design,'" said military lawyer Eugene Fidel. In that case he could face dismissal � the officer's equivalent of a dishonorable discharge � and jail time.

In a statement released by Fort Lewis, where Lt. Watada is currently assigned, military officials said no decision had been made yet regarding his future.

"For a commissioned officer to publicly declare an apparent intent to violate military law by refusing to obey orders is a serious matter and could subject him to adverse action," the statement said. "No decision regarding personnel actions involving 1st Lt. Watada will be made until a thorough review by his commander occurs in accordance with military law."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2049982&page=1

[ddeubel]

Wow! A hero and I really take my hat off to him.Takes balls to do what he has done..........even just the part of seeing things clearly but more so, stepping up and doing the "American thing". Dissent, saying no to injustice despite the powers that be. That is AMERICAN.

I hope his name burns bright in the history of this thing. In particular his well thought out belief that the war is illegal NOT because of the lack of international sanctioning or agreement but because he violates the rights of individual Iraqis and their own self determination....

He's a good man, even a great man. Unfortunately I expect as so many others before him in history (see Russia (Crimea), France (Algeria) as two prime examples) to be hung out to dry. Totally raked over the coals and forever suffering for "doing the right thing"....

God Bless those who don't turn the other way.....

DD

[igotthisguitar]

Lawyer: War Objector Will Take Stand
By MELANTHIA MITCHELL, Associated Press Writer

FORT LEWIS, Wash. - An Army lieutenant who said he refused to deploy to Iraq because he believes the war is illegal will take the stand in his own defense, his lawyer said.

1st Lt. Ehren Watada, 28, of Honolulu, is charged with refusing to ship out with his unit and conduct unbecoming an officer for accusing the Army of war crimes and denouncing the administration for conducting an "illegal war" founded on "lies."



As the court-martial got under way Monday, military judge Lt. Col. John "Head" excluded virtually all the planned defense witnesses. Head previously ruled that Watada's attorney, Eric Seitz, could not debate the legality of the Iraq war in court.

Seitz said he planned to call Watada and a character witness, an Army captain who has known Watada for about two years. The captain has been brought back from service in Iraq to testify.

The court-martial was to resume Tuesday.

Although other officers have refused to deploy to Iraq, Watada is the first to be court-martialed. In 2005, Army Sgt. Kevin Benderman, an enlisted man, served 13 months in prison and was given a dishonorable discharge after refusing to go to Iraq.

Army prosecutors have argued that Watada's behavior was dangerous to the mission and morale of soldiers in Iraq. If convicted, Watada could receive four years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.

Outside this Army base south of Tacoma, a small group that included actor Sean Penn demonstrated Monday in support of Watada. A few others demonstrated against him, including one man who carried a sign calling Watada a "weasel."

Watada, who joined the Army in March 2003, has called the Iraq war "a horrible breach of American law" and said he has a duty to refuse illegal orders

Watada, a member of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, requested that his case be heard by a military panel of officers, the equivalent of a jury.

A panel of seven officers was selected Monday.

[sundubuman]

some background on this great american hero.....

Ehren K. Watada was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Robert Watada and Carolyn Ho. Robert Watada served for ten years as executive director of Hawaii's Campaign Spending Commission and himself refused to serve in the Vietnam War. follow in dad's footsteps......

[3] Ehren Watada attended Punahou School, then transferred in his sophomore year to Kalani High School, where he played cornerback on the varsity football team.

An Eagle Scout, and near straight-A student, Watada graduated from Hawaii Pacific University in 2003[4] and joined the US Army after the war in Iraq began, stating that after 9/11 he was motivated "out of a desire to protect our country further his own career????? ." Watada first served a tour in Korea, where he was rated by his superiors as "among the best", "exemplary", and recommended for early promotion ahead of his peers. Watada then returned to the United States in June 2005 and reported to Fort Lewis to begin preparation for deployment to Iraq.[5]

Upon discovering that he would be going to Iraq, Watada began conducting research on the war. Imagine an army where EVERYONE can do this!!!!After reading books and articles by scholars, governmental and non-governmental agencies about international law, the history of Iraq, and the evidence used to justify the war,[6] and speaking with veterans returning from Iraq,[5] he ceased to believe in the legality Well, just let him quit then!!!!! and morality of the war. In January 2006 he submitted a resignation request, declaring that he would not serve in Iraq. However, he was willing to serve in Afghanistan.

oh would he like some fries with that?

[Nowhere Man]

1000 people got killed in Iraq this week, and you're spending your time whining about this guy?

[Kuros]

Aren't the KIA a little braver?

Yeah, I think so.

Not that I think this guy is a coward, I just don't agree with his manner of protest.

[caniff]

You signed the contract, asshole. You're in.

"Oh, my feet hurt!!! I don't wanna!! Maybe I will die!!"

You're in, pal. Suck it up.

[Nowhere Man]

[Svetlana]

America: Land of the Greed, Home of the Slaves.

[Nowhere Man]

[On the other hand]

[Pligganease]

Let's see...

He signs a contract to serve in the U.S. Military, but refuses to go where there's a chance he could die?

Hahahahaha....

[Nowhere Man]

[huffdaddy]

[mindmetoo]

I don't support the Iraq war but I don't support a member of the officer corp unilaterally deciding what is a just and unjust war. Other than deploying to Iraq no one asked him to perform an illegal order. He's not stupid. Was he unaware that once a decade America uses the army to fight a morally ambiguous conflict? Did he think his experience would be different?