Army Refiles Against Watada
As well they should. Here's a quote from the article
"Watada is the first Army officer to face court-martial for refusing to serve in Iraq, and his case has drawn international attention as the Hawaiian-born officer has allied himself with peace groups and repeatedly attacked the Bush administration's conduct of the war."
The guy doesn't deploy with his unit....courtmartial for sure.
5 comments:
Right, but then you get into the question of "when is it legal to disobey an illegal order", and whether the war in Iraq constitutes an illegal order on the part of the President.
Not even a factor. He's not in a position to judge. What's particularly damning is his strident ties to anti-war groups. He could have easily registered with the Army as a conscientious objector but refused to do so.
This guy needs to go down as a poster boy for the wrong way to protest from within the military. He had ample opportunity to do it the right way.
Watada has said he is not a conscientious objector because he is not opposed to all wars as a matter of principle, and he claims he has offered to serve in Afghanistan, which he regarded as "an unambiguous war linked to the Sept. 11 attacks." This was refused. Watada, in turn, refused an offer for a desk job in Iraq without direct combat involvement.
What WAS the right way, pray tell?
The right way was listing as an objector.
And, really, it doesn't matter what he wanted. The UCMJ and the rules governing one while in the military are different that in civilian life.
When in the military, one can't pick and choose wars. You do have the right to refuse an unlawful order - as Watada claims he is doing - but the military has the right to challenge that claim in a courtmartial.
Since he has a website soliciting donations and has been a poster child for anti-war rallies, I'd venture to say that he is doing thisfor all the wrong reasons and really needs to have his ass handed to him.
But he wasn't a conscientious objector, so how could he file as one?
And I don't think it's fair to complain about the organizations supporting him -- it's irrelevant to his position.
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