True Courage in the US Military - Lt. Ehren Watada

Officer at Fort Lewis calls Iraq war illegal, refuses order to go

Complete Story Here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003044627_nogo7m.html

Excerpts:

In a rare case of officer dissent, a Fort Lewis Army lieutenant has refused orders to head out to Iraq this month to lead troops in what he believes is an illegal war of occupation.

1st Lt. Ehren Watada's Stryker brigade is scheduled to make its first deployment to Iraq this month. His refusal to accompany these troops puts him at risk of court-martial and years of prison time.

"I feel that we have been lied to and betrayed by this administration," Watada said Tuesday in a telephone interview from Fort Lewis. "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."...

..."I had my doubts," he said. "But I felt like the president is our leader, and he won't betray our trust, and he would know what he was talking about, and let's give him the benefit of the doubt." Over the past year, his feeling changed as he read up on the war and became convinced that there was "intentional manipulation of intelligence" by the Bush administration.

In January, Watada told his commanders that he believed that the war was unlawful, and therefore, so were his deployment orders. He did not, however, consider himself a conscientious objector, since he was willing to fight in wars that were justified, legal and in defense of the nation.

It is every officer's duty to defend the constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic and well within their rights to refuse to follow unconsititutional orders. The US needs more officers of true courage, moral fiber, and the wisdom to understand the abject, blatant lies coming out of Washinton DC. Lt. Watada should be commended for refusing to particpate in the murder of innocent brown people in what is an obvious attempt to steal their oil and destroy their country so it can be "rebuilt" by Halliburton, Bechtel, and other Bush cronies. - Etienne