I am the mother of Lt. Ehren Watada, an officer stationed at Ft. Lewis. He is part of a Stryker brigade unit that deployed today to Iraq. Despite an unflinching commitment to his men and to democratic ideals, he chose not to accompany his men. His decision came through much soul-searching and through research and consultation with experts across disciplines, inside and outside of the military and the government.
After weighing the evidence, he came to the conclusion that he could no longer be silent while atrocities were committed in the name of democracy. He could no longer be a tool of an administration that used deception and lies to make the case for pre-emptive war.
As a member of the armed forces, sworn to uphold the US Constitution, he refuses to blindly participate in a war of aggression, an illegal war that undermines who we are as a nation and violates international law. Implicit in his oath as an officer is the duty to disobey all unlawful orders, for to carry out these orders renders him an accomplice to a criminal act. Furthermore, to order his men to participate in a war of aggression multiplies his guilt a thousandfold. His conscience will not permit him to do so. He believes that he can best serve them by taking a stand against the war. In so doing, he demonstrates that one does not relinquish the freedom to choose what is right, even in the military, and that the freedom to choose what is right transcends the allegiance to man and institutions.
-- Carolyn Ho, "Open Letter From Mother of Lt. Ehren Watada, Resister of Illegal War" (Truthout)
We learned of Ehren Watada on the morning of June 7th via The Common Ills (C.I. notes, "Via Joan who found the article.") Democracy Now! summarized the breaking news as follows:
Army Lt. Refuses Iraq Deployment
Meanwhile, a US army officer has announced he's refusing his deployment to Iraq slated for later this month. The officer, First Lt. Ehren Watada, says he first asked for permission to resign his position in January. He says he wrote: "I am whole-heartedly opposed to the continued war in Iraq, the deception used to wage this war, and the lawlessness that has pervaded every aspect of our civilian leadership." Lt. Watada is believed to be the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq since the invasion. Simultaneous news conferences by his supporters are expected to be held today in his home state of Hawaii and in Olympia, Washington. Military officials told Watada he cannot attend the news conference because he is barred from speaking publicly about his case while on duty at the base.
The following day, Amy Goodman interviewed him on Democracy Now!:
EHREN WATADA: Probably the maximum penalty I face, when I refuse orders to board the plane to go to Iraq, would be anywhere from two to five years, maybe more, in a military stockade. Dishonorable discharge and loss of all pay and allowances. There could be other punishment.
AMY GOODMAN: I was wondering, Army Lieutenant Ehren Watada, what your response was to the protest that resulted in I think something like 22 arrests in Olympia, Washington this past week as peace activists tried to stop a ship from moving out of port with striker vehicles and troops.
EHREN WATADA: I think that we all have a duty as American citizens for civil disobedience, and to do anything we can within the law to stop an illegal war.
The military refused to let him give any interviews during 'working hours.' Fortunately, that wasn't a hindrance to big media which had decided to ignore the story. Despite what was obviously a national story (the first commissioned officer to refuse to serve in the illegal war), you only heard of the story from certain media (such as Democracy Now!, WBAI's Wakeup Call, Sarah Olson reporting for Truthout.org, KPFA's Flashpoints, RadioNation with Laura Flanders, regional media -- Joan is a community member who lives in Hawaii --, etc.). One of the big media outlets you never heard about if from (to this day) is The New York Times. This would be the same New York Times that, as Ruth points out, noting FAIR and CounterSpin's coverage, was more than happy to print an op-ed that couldn't survive a basic fact check but did falsely attack the peace movement. Faced with an actual news story, the paper of no record chose to, yet again, shove its head in the sand.
That we can't count on big media comes as no surprise. The fact that Ehren Watada can't may not be surprising either but hopefully it underscores how much your help is needed. Visit ThankYouLt.org and find out what you can do. Make time to bring up the issue in your day to day conversations. Use your voice to bring attention to this issue. Big media doesn't want Watada's case to garner attention and, if they have their way, it won't. It's up to all of us to get the word out.
C.I. offered this update Friday:
In peace news, Will Hoover (The Honolulu Advertiser) reports on Ehren Watada's refusal to ship to Iraq when his unit left Fort Lewis, Washington yesterday (6:45 am), he refused to board. Ehren's father Bob Watada tells Hoover of the three officers that spent hours on Wednesday trying to convince Ehren to change his mind: "They put the full-court press on him. They were telling him, 'You know, you're facing 10 to 15 years in jail, and do you want to do all of that?'" The Army issued a statement saying that charges wouldn't be filed "until the commander has had a chance to review all of the facts of the case and consult with the Staff Judge Advocate." Gregg K. Kakesako (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) reports that the gag order placed on Watada has been "rescinded . . . allowing Watada to talk to anyone." As Alex Fryer (Seattle Times) notes, "Peace groups around the nation plan a day of protests and vigils in support of Watada on Tuesday." For more information, click here.
He followed through. If you're opposed to the war, you should back him up. There have been enough people taking brave stances that you might not have heard of until it was too late to make any difference. You can make a difference now. Laura Flanders (RadioNation with Laura Flanders) rightly says, "Don't leave politics to the politicans." We agree 100%. We also think you don't leave the news to big media -- they'll fail you every time.