Officer Ehren Watada. One Year Ago, He Refused to Go.

[Bonobo]

With all this talk about Kokesh, I just wanted everyone to remember Lt. Watada who REALLY put his ASS on the line.

http://www.thankyoult.org/

[lonestarnot]

1. Yes he did.

[Bonobo]

2. And umm... that was ummm... good. Right?

[Squatch]

3. No, it was not.

[Bonobo]

4. OK. You're right. Fuck that traitor! He's destroying the fabric of society!

[Squatch]

5. If, by "society" you mean the "good order and discipline" of the military

then I will agree.

[Bonobo]

6. What about the honor of the military?

[Squatch]

7. The "military" has no honor, only the individuals who compose it do...

or do not, as is the case with Mr. Watada

[Bonobo]

10. Definition of Honor: Please read.

"1. probity, uprightness. Honor, honesty, integrity, sincerity refer to the highest moral principles and the absence of deceit or fraud. Honor denotes a fine sense of, and a strict conformity to, what is considered morally right or due: a high sense of honor; on one's honor. Honesty denotes the presence of probity and particularly the absence of deceit or fraud, esp. in business dealings: uncompromising honesty and trustworthiness. Integrity indicates a soundness of moral principle that no power or influence can impair: a man of unquestioned integrity and dependability."

I guess we disagree about what honor is. You seem to think blindly following orders without using your own moral conscience is an act of honor. I do not. It is moral cowardice.

[lonestarnot]

18. Yes it was and he should have never joined when liars were at the top.

[gratuitous]

8. An example of real, live heroism

Not to be confused with the cheap knock-off variety that's been so fervently peddled the last few years. Thank you, Mr. Watada. Your effectiveness is best measured in the hysterical bloviating by people who deep, deep in their hearts wish they could do as you did, but when the moment came, they didn't. And they hate you for their failure of nerve.

[Squatch]

9. Hmmmmm....failure of nerve is precisely Mr. Watada's salient flaw.

Watada joined the US Army after the war in Iraq had begun, stating that he was motivated "out of a desire to protect our country" after 9/11.

[Bonobo]

11. I guess he didn't see that killing Iraqis in their own country would protect USA.

[Squatch]

13. Sure, whatever. I'm just glad I don't have to serve with him.

Good riddance.

[Bonobo]

14. Squatch... What does that Yin Yang symbol mean to you?

Did I ever see you at FA.com?

[Squatch]

15. No, I don't think so.

The yin yang in my sig line is the symbol for my unit: the 29th Infantry Division. The colors represent the role the states that compose the division had in the civil war.

I've never heard of FA.com

[Bonobo]

16. Thanks for the answer.

[gratuitous]

17. Yeah, it's gotta be tough

What did he see in serving that you don't? And what caused him to give up his commission when you're still foursquare behind the occupation? Or did you see it, too, and it just doesn't matter to you? Or does Watada's sense of duty revolve around another center?

[Squatch]

12. Dupe