Lieutenant Watada Refused Iraq Deployment Orders Today

Lieutenant Watada Refused Iraq Deployment Orders Today
By Sarah Olson
Truthout | Report

Thursday 22 June 2006

First Lieutenant Ehren Watada became the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse orders to deploy to the Iraq war at 2:30 Thursday morning. Hours before his refusal, Lieutenant Watada confirmed his steadfast opposition to the Iraq war: “I am opposed to this war and the misconduct within this administration. I am willing to sacrifice my freedom and my good name to end this war and save lives: both Iraqi and American.”

Georgia Tagaras-Gordon is a public affairs assistant at Ft. Lewis in Washington state. She says: “First Lieutenant Watada remained within his battalion headquarters during manifest this morning. No charges have been brought against him and none will be brought until his commanding officers can review the facts of the case.” She says roughly 4,000 soldiers are deploying with the 3-2 Stryker Brigade combat team. Lieutenant Watada is currently confined to base, and restricted to communicating only with his lawyer.

Eric Seitz is Lieutenant Watada’s lead defense attorney. He says: “This morning Lieutenant Watada has been restricted to base without any actual charges or proper process. By placing a complete gag order on Lieutenant Watada, the military has again shown that their first concern is silencing Lieutenant Watada’s speech in opposition to the illegal war in Iraq.” Seitz says he will immediately challenge these restrictions.

Watada’s mother, Carolyn Ho, flew to Olympia from her home in Hawaii to support her son in his decision. This morning she says: “My son’s decision to refrain from deploying to Iraq is an act of patriotism. It is a statement to all Americans, to men and women in uniform, that they need not remain silent out of fear – that that they have the power to turn the tide of history, to stop the destruction of a country and the killing of untold numbers of innocent men, women and children. It is a message that states unequivocally that blindly following orders is no longer an option.”

Bob Watada is Ehren’s father, and also joined his son in Olympia to support him in his decision. He says: “He took an oath to protect and defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And that’s what he’s upholding. We have people who have committed very egregious war crimes. My son has been ordered to kill people for no reason, and he has decided he can’t be a part of that. I’m very proud of him for that stand.”

Retired-Colonel Ann Wright resigned her position as a US diplomat in 2003 to protest the Iraq war. She is in Washington state as well today, and says: “I am very proud of Lieutenant Watada for making his stand of conscience. He is standing up to say this is an illegal war. This is a type of analysis that everyone in the military needs to be looking at. The war in Iraq is, in my opinion, an illegal war of aggression, and a war crime. Ehren has every right to refuse to deploy to Iraq in opposition to this illegal war.” Wright says she hopes others will be inspired by Lieutenant Watada’s stand.

Lieutenant Watada says he has been receiving support from around the world since his June 7 announcement that he would refuse to deploy to Iraq. He says he has also been receiving support from individuals within the military, at every rank and level. Others have called him a traitor and a coward. To that, he says: “I took an oath to defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies. And that means we have to make our leaders accountable. We have to uphold the laws and the values of democracy – and the elected officials are servants of the people and they must be held accountable to us. We will not tolerate deception or taking us into war based on lies and betrayal.”

Lieutenant Watada concludes that: “It’s all really about what are you willing to personally sacrifice. If you believe that this war is wrong, that we must end it in the very near future, that you want to support the troops and bring them home alive, it takes people acting on this belief. Can you imagine if there were a million people in Washington every day, what kind of impact this would have in ending this war? If we don’t hold our leaders accountable for what they have done, they will continue to violate the law, they will continue this illegal war, sacrifice more American lives and continue with further death and destruction.”

Anti-war organizers have called for a solidarity action-set on Tuesday, June 27, in cities around the country. For information on these actions and the latest developments in Lieutenant Watada’s case, see https://www.thankyoult.org.