Army officer to be court-martialed (Lt. Watada)

[Barrett808]

Army officer to be court-martialed
By MELANTHIA MITCHELL, Associated Press Writer

SEATTLE - An Army lieutenant who challenged the Bush administration's reasons for going to war in Iraq and then refused to deploy to the country will face a military trial, the Army said Thursday.

Fort Lewis commander Lt. Gen. James Dubik recommended that the Army proceed with a general court-martial against 1st Lt. Ehren Watada.

Watada, 28, was charged with missing troop movement, conduct unbecoming an officer and contempt toward officials for comments he made about President Bush.

The Army later added another specification of conduct unbecoming an officer based on his comments in Seattle during the national convention of Veterans for Peace in August.

Dubik referred only the charges of missing movement and conduct unbecoming an officer, the Army said.

The officer, from Honolulu, has said he believes the war is illegal. He was first charged after he refused to deploy to Iraq on June 22 with his Fort Lewis Stryker unit, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061109/ap_on_re_us/war_objector

[Karenina]

1. I am ALWAYS so disappointed

at the lack of support here for our troops who are brave enough to stick their necks out from within the system...

[RufusEarl]

2. I have not kept up with this story,

but i'll always support military or civilian when they speak their mind.

[gratuitous]

3. Lt. Watada was aware of the risks

But believing in a cause larger than himself and his own situation, he chose to go this route anyway. "Hero" has been sort of devalued in our national discourse of late; Lt. Watada is a hero without a doubt.

[TheBaldyMan]

4. that young man has courage, far more than any of the chickenhawks in the Bush administration

[leftchick]

5. yet the freakin dog handler torturer is still in the service???

And they were goinf to send him BACK TO IRAQ??? How FUCKED UP IS THAT????

[KamaAina]

6. Meanwhile a *deserter* received an other-than-honorable discharge

no court-martial.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/04/national/main2060954.shtml

Attorney Jim Fennerty of Chicago said Anderson will be interviewed by military investigators, given a uniform and assigned to a barracks while his case is processed. In three to five days, he will be given a discharge of other than honorable. At that point, he should be free from his military commitment and face no other charges, Fennerty said.

Desertion is more serious than missing movement, is it not? Can it be that Lt. Watada is really being court-martialed for speaking his mind about the war in Iraq? :grr:

[bluedigger]

7. Well, you make your choices

and have to accept responsibility for them, don't you? I understand LT Watada's decision, and can see the Army's need to respond to it, as well. It's completely necessary for the military to maintain order and discipline. If we let individual members decide which actions they will and will not participate in...well, our army would suddenly look a lot more like Iraq's for one. Servicemembers sacrifice some of the individual rights we all enjoy to protect the rest of us, knowingly, willingly. and voluntarily. The fact that his CO deferred the more objectionable charges shows a certain sympathy for him, and with luck his punishment, if found guilty, will be lenient as well.

[w4rma]

11. And I think that our choice should be to support this honorable man as much as humanly possible.(nt)

[uppityperson]

8. very brave man, thank you and you have my highest respect

[Pachamama]

9. Hey - Congress convened to pass a bill to save "Terri Schiavo", then why not one for Lt. Watada?

Oh - that's right - Bush wouldn't fly back from his vacation for a soldier.....

:eyes:

Seriously though - could it be that Lt. Watada could be called as a "witness" to testify in front of Congress and actually have some of these procedures against him halted?

Just wondering....

[Hawkowl]

10. Vounteered

He volunteered to be deployed to Afghanistan or anywhere else but Iraq. He is claiming it is an illegal war. I hope he wins his case. A man of conscience to be sure.