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  • Iraq War Called Illegal by Hawai‘i Army Lieutenant

    Well a Hawai‘i AJA starts a new tradition. Will it add to or fade the legacy?

    Lieutenant defies Army over 'illegal' war

    By William Cole
    Advertiser Military Writer

    In one of the first known cases of its kind, an Army officer from Honolulu is expected to refuse to go to Iraq this month with his unit, citing what he calls the "illegal" and "immoral" basis of the war, his father confirmed.

    We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.

    — U.S. President Bill Clinton
    USA TODAY, page 2A
    11 March 1993

  • #2
    Re: Iraq War Called Illegal by Hawai‘i Army Lieutenant

    I don't think Lt. Watada's actions reflect in any way on the courageous actions of the Nisei of the 100th/442nd in WW2. This is a different time, and Japanese Americans are now so assimilated into American society that I seriously doubt his ethnicity will cause much of a ripple. I think there will be more comments about his being born and raised in Hawai'i than there will be about his being 3rd or 4th generation Japanese American.

    There was a Hawai'i born Marine named Lance Cpl Christopher Scott Magaoay (family lives on Maui) who went AWOL a couple of months ago and who is now living in Canada because he didn't believe in the Iraq war either.

    Similarly, Gen. Eric Shinseki wasn't "shit-canned" because he was Japanese American; he was "shit-canned" because he told Rummy and the generals leading the planning for the Iraq invasion something they didn't want to hear.

    Miulang
    Last edited by Miulang; June 6, 2006, 11:45 AM.
    "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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    • #3
      Re: Iraq War Called Illegal by Hawai‘i Army Lieutenant

      In the military, your life is NOT a choice. Once in, you serve. Period.

      I say life in Leavenworth.
      FutureNewsNetwork.com
      Energy answers are already here.

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      • #4
        Re: Iraq War Called Illegal by Hawai‘i Army Lieutenant

        Originally posted by timkona
        In the military, your life is NOT a choice. Once in, you serve. Period.

        I say life in Leavenworth.
        Amen! Also, drop his rank to private.
        Listen to KEITH AND THE GIRLsigpic

        Stupid people come in all flavors-buzz1941
        Flickr

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        • #5
          Re: Iraq War Called Illegal by Hawai‘i Army Lieutenant

          There's a little more to this story: Lt. Watada's tour was supposed to end this December anyway and he asked to be sent somewhere else and when that wasn't acceptable, he asked to resign his commission. He could have applied for CO status, but he doesn't object to ALL wars, which you have to do in order to be considered for CO status. He only objects to the occupation in Iraq because he believes the government lied about WMDs and he didn't want to be responsible for the deaths of some of the men in his unit (he's with the Stryker Brigade out of Ft. Lewis).

          He is fully aware of the consequences of his actions: he will be court martialed and probably imprisoned for a few years (he might also have to pay back the government for his HPU education), but his conscience apparently tells him that it's better for him to suffer in jail than it is to let his troops suffer and have that weigh on his conscience.

          Miulang
          "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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          • #6
            Re: Iraq War Called Illegal by Hawai‘i Army Lieutenant

            This story has upset me from the beginning. First off, who is he to think that he is better than any of the other soldiers out there? I can guarantee that 99% of the men and women being deployed to danger zones do not want to be there, but guess what? They don't have a choice... It doesn't matter if you think the war is justified or not or if he doesn't want to be held responsible for deaths in his unit. That’s part of being a leader. Why do you think the Stryker Brigade trains? It’s not to "have fun." It is to fight and win wars.

            I am greatly disappointed with the support that he is getting from others and I hope he gets dishonorably discharged and ends up in federal prison for a long time. If this wasn't to happen, it would most definently cause a chain effect with many others attempting to get out of going to Iraq or Afghanistan.
            Ryan

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            • #7
              Re: Iraq War Called Illegal by Hawai‘i Army Lieutenant

              Wars that are criminal, wars that are illegal, wars that are immoral should be opposed by the soldiers, marines and airmen who are ordered to engage in such wars. US's U.S. War on Iraq is just such a war that should be opposed.

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              • #8
                Re: Iraq War Called Illegal by Hawai‘i Army Lieutenant

                Originally posted by waioli kai
                Wars that are criminal, wars that are illegal, wars that are immoral should be opposed by the soldiers, marines and airmen who are ordered to engage in such wars. US's U.S. War on Iraq is just such a war that should be opposed.
                Amen. Those who serve are not sheep or automatons; they are capable and intelligent human beings. And they have as much a right to their fellings, opinions and beliefs as any other person.

                That's why many of them are willing to put their lives at risk for something they believe in; why should we deny them the right to protest what they disagree with?

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                • #9
                  Re: Iraq War Called Illegal by Hawai‘i Army Lieutenant

                  According to the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) a soldier is required not to carry out an unlawful order. If the Lieutenant believes the Iraq war is illegal and unjustified, he can make that argument in front of a military court-martial. Given the usual result of those things, I think it's unlikely that argument will fly, but if he's got the courage of his convictions, it's his choice.

                  I happen to agree with him that the Iraq war was sold to the American public as something it wasn't (Look! WMD! Oh wait, um, al-Qaeda! Um, bringing democracy to Iraqis! Er, fighting the terrorists there so we won't fight them here! Well, we can't leave now because it will become a civil war!). Fortunately for me, I'm not in the position he's in; I'm just an ordinary civilian.

                  Interestingly, KHNL led its 10:00pm news last night with an interview with his father, who said he'd protested the Vietnam War in his day and fully supports his son.
                  http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

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                  • #10
                    Lieutenant defies Army over 'illegal' war

                    Lieutenant defies Army over 'illegal' war

                    By William Cole
                    Advertiser Military Writer

                    In one of the first known cases of its kind, an Army officer from Honolulu is expected to refuse to go to Iraq this month with his unit, citing what he calls the "illegal" and "immoral" basis of the war, his father confirmed.

                    The officer, 1st Lt. Ehren K. Watada, 28, son of former state campaign spending commission executive director Bob Watada, is believed to be one of the first military officers to publicly take steps to refuse his deployment orders.

                    "My son has a great deal of courage, and clearly understands what is right, and what is wrong," Bob Watada said yesterday. "He's choosing to do the right thing, which is a hard course."

                    Watada declined further comment until a news conference planned for 11 a.m. tomorrow at the state Capitol. His son is with a Stryker unit out of Fort Lewis, Wash., and is expected to participate by teleconference.

                    Jeff Paterson, a former Kane'ohe Bay Marine who refused to board a transport in 1990 heading to the Gulf War and now works as an anti-war activist with the organization Not In Our Name, said a second news conference will be held in Tacoma, Wash.

                    On the Web site www.thankyoult.org., which Paterson said was created by friends and family, the "Lt." is quoted as saying: "I refuse to be silent any longer. I refuse to watch families torn apart, while the President tells us to 'stay the course.' ... I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression. I wanted to be there for my fellow troops. But the best way was not to help drop artillery and cause more death and destruction. It is to help oppose this war and end it so that all soldiers can come home."

                    Ehren Watada apparently sought in January to resign his commission, and later asked again and was denied.

                    Watada, who is not seeking conscientious objector status, but rather has moral objections to the Iraq war, faces the possibility of a court-martial, dishonorable discharge and several years in prison if he refuses the war orders.

                    According to the GI Rights Hotline, a conscientious objector has a deeply held moral, ethical or religious belief that it is wrong to kill another human being in war.

                    Some service members discover that opposition after joining the military, and are discharged, the organization said.

                    Watada doesn't qualify as a conscientious objector because he does not oppose all wars.

                    Watada graduated from Hawai'i Pacific University in 2003, joined the Army shortly after, went to Officer Candidate School, and incurred a three-year obligation.

                    The Hawai'i man is with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry, at Fort Lewis. The unit is part of a larger 3,600-soldier Stryker brigade combat team similar to a unit being developed in Hawai'i with about 300 eight-wheeled armored vehicles.

                    The Fort Lewis brigade is heading to Mosul in northern Iraq, and the soldiers are expected to leave this month and into July.

                    At a farewell ceremony on Friday, I Corps and Fort Lewis commander Lt. Gen. James Dubik, a former Schofield Barracks commander, said that of 299 million people in the United States, only 2.3 million serve in uniform to defend the nation, the Olympian newspaper reported.

                    "Less than 1 percent of the nation is carrying 100 percent of the burden of this war," Dubik said.

                    But in a sign of increased opposition to the three-year-old Iraq war, anti-war activists demonstrated at the Port of Olympia after Stryker vehicles drove there for shipment, the Olympian reported.

                    Police used pepper spray on about 100 activists, and 22 people were arrested in one of the more volatile confrontations, the newspaper said.

                    Paterson, 38, who in 1990 alleged that the Gulf War was about profits and oil in the Middle East and sat down on the tarmac at Kane'ohe Bay instead of boarding a transport, said he's not sure of the number of Iraq or Afghanistan war objectors.

                    Cases that resulted in court-martial include a Navy sailor sentenced to three months of hard labor for refusing to board a ship headed to the Persian Gulf, a specialist in the National Guard given 120 days in a stand against fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a soldier sentenced to 15 months for refusing to deploy to Iraq a second time.

                    Robert Arakaki, the 83-year-old president of the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans group, who saw combat in Italy in 1945, yesterday said Watada "owes the country a lot."

                    There "should be some kind of good explanation" for why Watada wants out, he said, and Arakaki takes issue with claims of an immoral and illegal war.

                    "Who determines what is legal or illegal? Him or our government? Not him," Arakaki said.

                    Retired Navy Cmdr. Jack Miller, past president of the Hawai'i chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, said "there's always been the problem of following orders. This time is no different."

                    "Being a Vietnam veteran, we went through this," said Miller, 72. "The rest of the load had to be shared by those willing to follow orders and serve their country."

                    Dependable, loyal officers are needed, and "if one doesn't fit that qualification, a bad apple will contaminate the barrel. He (Watada) should be punished in some way," Miller said. "You don't want someone over there in Iraq who's not going to willingly follow orders. That's dangerous."
                    You Look Like I Need A Drink

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                    • #11
                      Re: Lieutenant defies Army over 'illegal' war

                      This thread already exists.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Lieutenant defies Army over 'illegal' war

                        Sorry Leo, my apologies
                        You Look Like I Need A Drink

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                        • #13
                          Re: Iraq War Called Illegal by Hawai‘i Army Lieutenant

                          I don't like this war either, but I have a hard time accepting the concept that members of the military have the right to select what wars/conflicts/police actions they choose to participate in. By the same token, if you are in the Army fighting in Iraq, would you want this guy leading you on the battlefield? Maybe they should kick home out of the Army, or throw him in the slammer, but you can't give into him otherwise others will do the same.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Iraq War Called Illegal by Hawai‘i Army Lieutenant

                            "I, Ehren K. Watada, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

                            Not a whole lot left for interpretation. He will be held accountable for his actions. Even OJ's defense team will not be able to get him out of this one. They will lock him up, make him pay back all moneys owed, and he will have a dishonorable discharge on his record for life.

                            Oh.... In case someone brings up the argument that he did not know what he was signing up for, he took his commission in 2003.

                            Maybe he can request Sunny Garcia to share a cell with. We have seen how nice Sunny can be to roommates.

                            You Look Like I Need A Drink

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                            • #15
                              Re: Iraq War Called Illegal by Hawai‘i Army Lieutenant

                              What I don't understand is why he joined the Army in the first place. His father protested Vietnam, he had an uncle who died in Korea and the Iraq war was already underway when he signed up.

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