1/17/07: Lt. Ehren Watada, who is facing up to 6 years in prison for refusing to fight in the war on Iraq, goes to court-martial trial on Feb. 5. He intended to defend himself in court by arguing that the Iraq war is illegal and as an officer it would be illegal for him to take part in it. But a military judge has now decided this defense will not be admissible in court.
Judge Lt. Col. John Head released his decision Tuesday (1/16)
that “whether the war is lawful” cannot be judged in military court
because it is a political question. Army regulations require that any
war launched must comply with the United Nations charter, which does
not allow pre-emptive wars or wars of aggression. (One would think
that army regulations would be acceptable inside a military court, but
apparently not in Watada’s case).
In addition to refusing to
deploy, Watada has also been charged with “conduct unbecoming an
officer” for making public criticisms of the war, including the
following from a speech at a Veterans for Peace conference Aug. 12:
Though the American soldier wants to do right, the illegitimacy of the
occupation itself, the policies of this administration and the rules of
engagement of desperate field commanders will ultimately force them to
be party to war crimes.
Watada
had planned to argue that this is protected first amendment speech, but
this argument is not being allowed in court either. The Seattle Times
reported:
Head ruled that there are limits to the free-speech rights of military
personnel and that a military panel should decide whether Watada’s
criticism of the war amounted to officer misconduct that could have
endangered the morale, loyalty and discipline of troops.
In
response to this outrageous ruling, Watada’s attorney Eric Seitz told
the Seattle Times, “We have been stripped of every defense. This is a
disciplinary system, not a
justice system. Otherwise, we would have been entitled to defend
ourselves.”
The Iraq war is quite clearly illegal. Wars of
aggression are war crimes under Nuremburg. Moreover, the conduct of
the occupation has been nothing but war crimes, from torture, massacres
of civilians, the use of depleted uranium and white phosphorous
chemicals, and attacks on whole cities (including hospitals) like in
Fallujah. In refusing to allow Watada to argue in court that the Iraq
war is illegal, the government is clearly afraid of what it would mean
for this truth to get out in an official court proceeding. And they
are afraid of what kind of example this would set for the many
thousands more troops who are increasingly opposed to the war.
This
outrageous ruling makes it all the more imperative to build support for
Watada including at his upcoming trial Feb. 5. And to make the fact
that this war is illegal and unjust something no one in society can
ignore.
—
Source: “Watada can’t base defense on war’s legality, judge says”, Seattle Times, 1/17/07.
For more information on how to support Lt. Watada, visit http://thankyoult.org/.
Also read
Lt. Watada: A Man of Conscience and Courage on worldcantwait.org.
To find out just why the Iraq war is illegal and a war crime, check out this DVD of testimony from the Bush Crimes Commission:
Available at our online store