Plenty of former officers have criticized the Iraq War, but there's only been one active duty career soldier who's not only come out against the War but also refused to go and fight in it. (He said he would go to Afghanistan instead, but that the Iraq war is "illegal"). That soldier is Lt. Ehren Watada, 30, a junior Army officer from Hawaii who's become a poster child for the anti-war movement. He's also become persona non grata within the military and is facing a possible sentence of six years in prison.
Our friend Tara McKelvey is the first journalist who has gotten close to him in more than a year. She's written an amazing story for The American Prospect about Watada, who's now in legal limbo and being subtly punished at a desk job.
Watada's critique of the Iraq War's legality is boosted by the recent release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on prewar Iraq intel. And his commitment to doing what he thinks is right is impressive. He told McKelvey:
"I realized we had been lied to. I was standing out in the middle of the desert, and I had a deep sense of betrayal. I had joined an army, and I thought it was noble. And to think we had engaged in something that had caused so much carnage and destruction and then to find out it was unnecessary. There I was in uniform, and I felt ashamed of what I was being asked to do. I think there's no bigger crime than taking your country into a war based on lies."
At the same time, someone else is just going to go in his place, and so members of the military are understandably angry at him for refusing to get on the plane. (They're even madder about his very public statements opposing the War.) Paul D. Eaton, a retired Army major general who was one of the retired generals who in 2006 called for Rumsfeld's resignation said, "Watada is an active-duty soldier, and he has failed to obey the orders of the officers over him. He does not have the right."
Read the article here. What do you think, is Watada a hero or a criminal?
Reader Comments ( Page 5 of 7)
61. USAPROUD....I'm afraid the issue isn't whether Lt. Watada was willing to fight or not. He was willing...just not in an illegal war. And, I'm afraid that it IS a military officer's responsibility to ascertain whether the order given is legal.
I was commissioned in the US Air Force in 1980. Here is an excerpt from my Commissioning Certificate:
"...this officer is to observe and follow such orders and directions, from time to time, as may be given by the President of the United States of America, or other superior officers ACTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA..." (bold mine).
Lt. Watada's position is that the war in Iraq is NOT in accordance with the laws of the USA. Therefore, he has a responsibility to question until it is proven that the order is legal.
Lt. Watada is not alone in this; there are great minds out there trying to determine whether the U.S.'s first and foremost body of law (the US Constitution) has been violated by our President.
virginia cody at 10:57AM on Jun 12th 2008
62. Hes no hero, hes a sham and has no right to wear that uniform. My husband is going back to fight in Iraq again in nov. He doesn't believe in the war either but its his duty and this guys duty to follow orders. He makes the Army look bad i hope he goes to jail for whats hes done to his fellow solider and his country.
crystal at 11:04AM on Jun 12th 2008
63. I am a former U.S. Army soldier and the wife of a vet, this "soldier" is a disgrace. You cannot join the military and choose what you do and where you go. It does not matter if you support the war or not but you must support your battle buddies. These are the men and women who have your back when situations get tough. There is no bond like the bond of battle buddies. I know I loved serving under STRONG leaders and would not want to serve under this man. I also know that in a time of war that is when our soldiers need the most support. And as for all the people who read this and call me a "sheep" or ignorant, I can care less. I served my country honorably and am proud of myself and my fellow soldiers who served. He is not a hero and he does not deserve the right to wear that uniform!
NYShoeGal at 3:13PM on Jun 12th 2008
64. A hero for sure.
Amanda at 12:25PM on Jun 12th 2008
65. This man is a criminal. When he enlisted in the Armed forces, he agreed to follow orders. I don't know when he enlisted, yet he would be a fool to think to enlist in the armed forces when this war is going on and think he can pick and choose his deployment locations. The validity of the war is regardless- the "career officer" still disobeyed orders.
If the President and Congress voted to declare war on terrorism and part of the war on terrorism is going to Iraq- then the order to deploy to Iraq is legal, as is the war. Now that more information has been brought out and people decide the war is not right- it does not make it so unless the men and women of Congress make it so. Each American's moral sense does not make an act illegal unless a court has declared it so.
I wish people who do not support the war would realize that the only people who have the power to change it are the people we have and will be electing. Protesting a fallen soldiers funeral is wrong- horribly so!
Support our troops regardless of what our elected officials are voting for them to do!!!!
BSMoore at 5:16PM on Jun 12th 2008
66. Cannon fodder? Expendable assets? War Hero's?
When America lied to build the justification for the preemptive attacks on two sovereign nations, Afghanistan and Iraq, the credibility of the US was tossed out the window. What started as "patriotism", also began with war crimes; Crimes Against Peace, that which we hanged people for in 1947.
Without the lies of 911 we would not have the Patriot Act, a huge document read by no one and signed by all; a document that stirred the "patriotism" as it was designed to do, just like the German "Enabling Act" of 1933 with similar results. Fear of Terrorism which justified attacking sovereign countries. The War on Terror is the War on Truth. And truth is free.
If the current Generals and Admirals had half the moral courage that Watada possesses, this war of aggression would be over and done with.
http://johnmccarthy90066.tripod.com/id431.html
John McCarthy at 12:49PM on Jun 12th 2008
67. If he doesn''t have the gumption to fight for his country...then why the heck did he go into the army to begin with. Failure to follow a direct order, failure to comply in service. Not only should he get prison time but should also get a dishonorable discharge to follow him the rest of his life. But then a jerk like him it probly wouldn't even bother him. I guess all you bleeding hearts want those foreign bastards coming over here???? This country is in enough trouble without more of them here.
Kat at 1:25PM on Jun 12th 2008
68. Honestly, the continued comments such as this one from Kat, "Not only should he get prison time but should also get a dishonorable discharge to follow him the rest of his life. But then a jerk like him it probly wouldn't even bother him." shows not only ignorance of Ehren's case but also the inability to READ-or maybe just plain old laziness.
For any future commenters here, GO BACK and read the FACTS in the comments made up til now before you spout off. Ehren WAS court martialed, it ended in a BOTCHED mistrial manipulated by the military to silence him and NOW his case in under temporary injunction in the
federal court on the CONSTITUTIONAL ground of double jeopardy.
Do you people want to know what the facts are?
Link here and you can READ what is currently happening LEGALLY.
http://www.thankyoult.org/content/view/2/77/
Then search the rest of Ehren's site if you want to at LEAST make educated comments concerning him.
Robin at 1:36PM on Jun 12th 2008
69. #65 USAproud, read #47.
Robin at 2:28PM on Jun 12th 2008
70. As a wife of a Army man....GOOD FOR HIM!!!! We have been lied to over and over by Bush and his administration. He should have been impeached a long time ago!!!
Jenn at 2:58PM on Jun 12th 2008
71. Lt. Watada is neither a hero nor a villain. But he is an exceptional human being.
I feel that no vocation, including the miltary, frees one from one's personal responsibility as a rational and ethical human being. No army, gov't or church can give one cover for this; we are all responsible for our own moral choices. Most of us, in or out of the military, sleepwalk through our lives, usually just following the wooly behind of the sheep in front of us. The lieutenant is exceptional because he actually thought about his own accountability, and decided accordingly. Whether he decided to go to Iraq or not is almost beside the point; because he actually woke himself up from our common societal sleep, asked himself the hard questions and made the subsequent decisions, he deserves to be a role model for all of us.
peacechaplain at 12:47AM on Jun 14th 2008
72. I'm a doctor and I don't think I want to see certain patients today because they are illegals. Is that OK?
chris at 2:56PM on Jun 12th 2008
73. IF YOU REFUSE TO GO TO GO, YOU NEED TO BE IN JAIL THEN, CHICKEN,ANOTHER ADULT CHILD, YOU SIGND UP, NOW LIKE IT.......AMERICAN BABIES,,THEY'LL NEVER GROWN UP,,YOU WANT OBAMA TO BRING THE WAR TO AMERICA, WHICH HE WILL, LET REAL MEN FRIGHT THE WAR, AND YOUR PARENT ,
steve at 3:08PM on Jun 12th 2008
74. The question of whether or not the war in Iraq is illegal is still up in the air - however cemented some of our opinions might be. The simple fact is that we can't have our soldiers decide that until someone rules that their opinion is right or wrong, they're just not going to do their job. What if half or all of the soldiers currently serving in Iraq had instead decided that they were not going to go for the same reasons as Watada? Is that the way the military should be run? Can we survuve as a country if this is allowed to occur? Watada has a right to question the validity of the war, he should not refuse to do his duty in the meantime, hoping someone will tell him he's right in the end. Don't we have a concept of innocent until proven guilty in this country? - Watad has violated that with his actions.
thinkin at 3:34PM on Jun 12th 2008
75. Yes, peachchaplian that is understandable..but then again don't join the military.It is stated in black and white that you must follow direct orders: whether you like them or not. He was fully aware of what he was getting himself into.
NYShoeGal at 3:39PM on Jun 12th 2008