Lt. Watada is a real deal hero

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Would you risk seven years in the slammer to make a point?

"The Army has filed three charges against a lieutenant who refused to deploy to Iraq last month because he believes the war there is illegal. 1st Lieutenant Ehren Watada is the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq. The charges against him include conduct unbecoming an officer, missing movement and contempt toward officials. He faces up to seven years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if convicted."

Of course, Watada will challenge. Here's his lawyer, Eric Seitz:

...[W]e expected him to be charged with missing movement or violating an order to get on a bus to accompany his unit to Iraq. We did not really anticipate that they would charge him with additional offenses based upon the comments and the remarks that he's made. And that opens up a whole new chapter in this proceeding, because what the Army has clearly tried to do by the nature of these charges is send out a message to people in the military, that if you criticize the war and if you criticize the decisions that were made to bring the United States into this war, that you, too, could be charged with disloyalty, contemptuous remarks and disrespect for higher officers, and in this case, specifically in this charge, the President.

Sidney Blumenthal pointed out that at least two Supreme Court justices are willing to accuse the Bush administration of war crimes, so if it gets all the way up there, there may well be a ruling in his favor, the consequences of which could be massive. But first things first. On to the military courts!

Watada is a hero.

Jan Frel is an AlterNet staff writer.

http://alternet.org/blogs/themix/38689/

Edited July 9, 2006 by Steven_and_Jinky

[JC75 0]

He faces up to seven years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if convicted."

omg

[peejay 327]

I don't believe this guy has a chance in hell of being aquitted. The US military is 100% volunteer and this guy willingly joined the military. Nobody is ordering him to commit war crimes.

While I never agreed with the US invasion of Iraq, it is a big stretch to accuse the President of being a war criminal.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Watada is a hero.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I don't believe this guy has a chance in hell of being aquitted. The US military is 100% volunteer and this guy willingly joined the military. Nobody is ordering him to commit war crimes.

While I never agreed with the US invasion of Iraq, it is a big stretch to accuse the President of being a war criminal.

He knew that this would get him in prison, but it sure was gutsy of him to do so. I seriously doubt that he would voluntarily join the military and plan a career as a CO just so he could protest the war. I'm wondering if he was hoping to be deployed somewhere else.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I'm wondering if he was hoping to be deployed somewhere else.

He didn't know he doesn't get to pick and choose? Everybody knows that.

[gimygirl 0]

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Watada is a hero.

Historically speaking, merely doing ones duty does not equate to heroism or even patriotism. Following what is right and just in your mind is. Sometimes that's the least popular road to take. Imagine the shock on the faces of all those Nazi officers during the Nuremberg trials when they realized that simply following orders doesn't remove you from being guilty of war crimes.

[peejay 327]

Watada is a hero.

Historically speaking, merely doing ones duty does not equate to heroism or even patriotism. Following what is right and just in your mind is. Sometimes that's the least popular road to take. Imagine the shock on the faces of all those Nazi officers during the Nuremberg trials when they realized that simply following orders doesn't remove you from being guilty of war crimes.

But nobody is ordering him to commit war crimes. I'm not saying that he doesn't have his reasons for not wanting to deploy to Iraq. I'm just saying that in the context of military service he probably doesn't have much of a chance for aquittal.

BTW...there were plenty of German officers that served in the German army in WW2 and did not commit war crimes.

[gimygirl 0]

what's always popular is not always right .... what's always right is not always popular!!

[dalegg 143]

Watada is a hero.

Historically speaking, merely doing ones duty does not equate to heroism or even patriotism. Following what is right and just in your mind is. Sometimes that's the least popular road to take. Imagine the shock on the faces of all those Nazi officers during the Nuremberg trials when they realized that simply following orders doesn't remove you from being guilty of war crimes.

But nobody is ordering him to commit war crimes. I'm not saying that he doesn't have his reasons for not wanting to deploy to Iraq. I'm just saying that in the context of military service he probably doesn't have much of a chance for aquittal.

BTW...there were plenty of German officers that served in the German army in WW2 and did not commit war crimes.

Hey, you aren't allowed to compare any events in Iraq to WW2. The only war you are allowed to compare Iraq to is Vietnam. I think it's in the OT rules somewhere.

[scumpi 0]

what's always popular is not always right .... what's always right is not always popular!!

Wrong thread gimmy?

Wait a sec...I think it applies here too

[one...two...tree 2,762]

But nobody is ordering him to commit war crimes. I'm not saying that he doesn't have his reasons for not wanting to deploy to Iraq. I'm just saying that in the context of military service he probably doesn't have much of a chance for aquittal.

BTW...there were plenty of German officers that served in the German army in WW2 and did not commit war crimes.

That's not entirely accurate. Yes, he voluntarily joined the military but that doesn't preclude that whatever orders are given to him from that point on are voluntary. If they were, then the military would simply let him choose his deployment. Let me use those soldiers who tortured the prisoners in Abu Graihb (sp) as an example. Were they following orders or were they acting on their own? If they were merely acting on their own then we have a serious problem when our POW camps are being run by renegade soldiers. Now imagine if this Lieutenent were assigned to one of these prisons. At what point is it justifiable to refuse to follow orders? The whole torture fiasco was mired in whether or not it was technically 'legal' to torture. At some point, a soldier has to follow his own conscience to decide what is right and just.

[gimygirl 0]

what's always popular is not always right .... what's always right is not always popular!!

Wrong thread gimmy?

Wait a sec...I think it applies here too

[one...two...tree 2,762]

BTW...there were plenty of German officers that served in the German army in WW2 and did not commit war crimes.

"Soviet leader Joseph Stalin proposed executing 50,000-100,000 German staff officers. Not realizing that Stalin was serious, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt joked that perhaps 49,000 would do."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Trials

That's not pocket change.