Studio8 - Uniting the Arts

the honorable Refusenik movement reemerges in the U.S. army

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AMY GOODMAN: First Lieutenant Watada joins us now on the phone from Washington State. We welcome you to Democracy Now!

EHREN WATADA: Thank you.

AMY GOODMAN: We are also joined by the phone by your lawyer in Washington State, Legrand Jones. We welcome you as well.

LEGRAND JONES: Thank you.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, First Lieutenant Ehren Watada, can you talk about how you arrived at this decision -- when did you join the army?

EHREN WATADA: I signed the papers to join the military in March 2003.

AMY GOODMAN: Right at the time of the invasion.

EHREN WATADA: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: And what was your understanding at the time of what would happen?

EHREN WATADA: In terms of the war, I knew that it was probable, more than likely, that I would be deployed to Iraq. At the time I didn't believe that the war was fully justified. But I think, like millions of people out there, I believed it when the President and many of his deputies told the world, told the U.S., that weapons of mass destruction did exist, that Saddam had ties to 9/11, he had ties to Al Qaeda, and that he had the willingness to use his weapons to attack his neighbors and also the U.S. And so at that time I had no reason to believe that the President would betray the trust of his people, and so I said that we should give him the benefit of the doubt.

AMY GOODMAN: How have you changed over this three years?

EHREN WATADA: When I learned that I was going to be deployed last year, I thought it was my responsibility as an officer to learn everything I could about war in general. Its effects on people, its effects on the soldiers. And also specifically why we were there, what was occurring at that time, what had occurred in the past. In order to get a better understanding, as was my job. And the more I read different articles by international and Constitutional law experts, and reports coming out from government agencies and non-governmental agencies, and the reports and the revelations from independent journalists and the Iraqi people themselves and the soldiers coming home, I came to the conclusion that the war and what we're doing over there is illegal. And so, being so, I felt it was my duty to morally and also legally refuse any orders to participate in it.

AMY GOODMAN: What has been the response now of the army? This week at Fort Lewis, right before your news conference, they started to crack down. They called you into a meeting?

EHREN WATADA: Right, I think as soon as they got word that I was going to make a public statement. That was the first time the Brigade Commander came out here to talk to me. Since I had submitted a letter of resignation citing my beliefs and my intent to refuse any orders to participate in an illegal war, they wanted basically to talk to me and see how strongly I held my beliefs. He said that he was fairly convinced. Also he wanted to talk to me about making a public statement and that he advised strongly against it. But if I was going to do it, then he had to lay out certain rules. So that was the first time that he had talked to me, first time I was giving out any kind of orders concerning making a public statement.

AMY GOODMAN: What is the penalty you face right 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.

AMY GOODMAN: Legrand Jones, you are First Lieutenant Ehren Watada's lawyer. What happens next? What does he face? What does he have to watch out for?

LEGRAND JONES: First off, I would like to clarify that Eric Seitz of Honolulu, Hawaii is Lieutenant Watada's primary counsel. We are with a firm in Olympia, Washington, near Fort Lewis. We're offering to assist in any way we can while his lawyer is not in town.

AMY GOODMAN: And so what are the stakes right now?

LEGRAND JONES: As Mr. Watada said, he's looking at a potential incarceration. That period of time is kind of up in the air. At this point the ball has been put in the Army's court. We hope that a meeting of the minds can occur. If not, I know that Mr. Seitz and my firm are ready, willing and able to defend him in this fight and we're honored to assist him.

AMY GOODMAN: How much support are you getting, Lieutenant Ehren Watada, in your unit?

EHREN WATADA: Very little. Of course, as you can probably understand, anybody who supports me personally would probably not voice that out loud. The majority of people I think within my unit and maybe within the military as a whole do not support my beliefs. Even if they did, they would probably not voice it publicly if they were still on active duty.


http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl? ... 08/1418206

seems well composed/
it was an ordeal getting out
back in he day, was able to finally resign
after i'd demonatrated my sincerity about getting out.
today they won't let ya, handing out jail time and bad discharges, plus monetary fines.

he has courage hope she has some support along th way/
thanks will watch the seg soon
am exhausted right now. carry on!

Sounds like a good time for her to get saved jimbo. Have a religious conversion. Become a Quaker. Think that would heljp? Thinking about the King of France who converted to Catholicism to claim the throne. His reason was , "Paris is worth a mass." Am I too cynical? I don't mean to be. They tell me there are no atheists in fox holes.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention e-dog.

THe thing with the Quakers, reminds me of what Karl Rove did to Kerry. He attacks his opponents strength not his weakness. The Quakers are almost Christians

I mean that we are having Bush Brand Christianity shoved up our rectum with a bayonett. Use religion as a shield. All she has to do is set her heart rihgt. Never pick up a weapon to harm a human being ever again.

especially not pick up a rifle for uncle sam
we gotta start going tru the united nations
underneath the un peacekeeping forces.
tell that idea to kinky, man.

Well as the man in charge of the texas national guard I think? He might have something to do with that. But Kinky's job one is fix the schools. We need smarter Texans.

This my sunday night.
I am trying to wind down from a most excellent four day weekend. It will be a relief to return to my beloved paper clips for awhile.

I appreciate you too

I just re-read the Amy goodman interview.

Most military people think that disobedience to orders is unnacceptable. They ask, "what if everybody did that, refused orders?"

well obviously, there would be a military standdown.

i would hope to follow thru on this and see what happens, if possible to offer support.

I may know less about Quaker faith and pracice than I do about Judaism. One story that stands out is the meeting of George Fox and William Penn.

There is a widely told, perhaps apocryphal, story that at one time George Fox and William Penn met. At this meeting William Penn expressed concern over wearing a sword (a standard part of dress for people of Penn's station), and how this was not in keeping with Quaker beliefs. George Fox responded, "Wear it as long as thou canst." Later, according to the story, Penn again met Fox, but this time without the sword. Penn then said, "I have taken thy advice; I wore it as long as I could

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penn

She did it as long as she could.

http://www.peace-out.com/



i carried an empty pistol
kept my bullets in my pocket
like barney fife


Lt. Ehren Watada, center, with his niece Kodie Watada and his father, Robert, who opposed the Vietnam War.


Lt. Ehren Watada says he will not go to Iraq.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... ogo7m.html

He has strong family support
I am sure he and his pops have had numerous discussions about this

plus the Stryker vehicles are death traps, amigos.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... Mar30.html

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred. tennisanyone?
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die. country joe
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred. tennisanyone?
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Well, come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, don't hesitate,
Send 'em off before it's too late.
Be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box. country joe

on Democracy Now today two reports about war resisters in the military today,Police in Eugene, Oregon have arrested 21-year-old Army Specialist Suzanne Swift for refusing to return to fight in Iraq

also Mission Rejected:U.S. Soldiers Who Say No To Iraq

"He's a national hero," Kit agrees. "When we talk about supporting the troops, what are we talking about? We're taking these kids, we're using them up and throwing them out, and not taking responsibility for it. If people knew stories like this, they wouldn't be so cavalier about saying they're supporting the troops, putting stickers on their cars, and feeling like it's done."

From a link off of THe Mission Rejected website.

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/36898

hey st i read yer little post before you deleted it, man

http://www.brianwillson.com/bio.html
another great american military hero, brian wilson, whose alienation from the paradigm of economic imperialism, etc, is willfully and eloquently expressed as someone who knows and feels the pain, the suffering inflicted upon third world peoples by the good old u.s. of a.

dam I am sorry about the deletions, more of a blurt, war is job one, a lot of issues, a lot of americans getting f**ked over, and they ain't having no fun. but I can't see this war dragging on, maybe there will be something in common with viet nam, "America's Longest War. Twenty Seven Years. I don't know what I could do to help, I got no complaints, but I got more time than money and gas. Just a walking fool these days. My car ain't moved in over a month.

Higher power? why the hell not, if that is what it takes.

A Methodist church in Tacoma has pledged as a congregation to offer sanctuary to war resisters inside the military, will find it tomorroow.

this dirty little war has lasted longer than Korean, WW1, and about the same as WW2 already, of course, the statistics are obscured by the numbers of war wounded not reported and the numbers of Iraqi dead and wounded only a guess,
i gotta go woik, take my anti-depressant

Not much I can say about the military. I been reading the CO section of the military code. One must object to war, not just some wars. I am thinking of the congress woman Rankin, she is the only person in congress that voted against FDR's declaration of war on Germany and Japan.

"As a woman, I can't go to war and I refuse to send anyone else."

"When news of Rankin's vote reached the crowd gathered outside the capitol, some patriots threatened to attack the Montana congresswoman, and police escorted her out of the building. Rankin was vilified in the press, accused of disloyalty, and called "Japanette Rankin," among other impolite names. She stood her ground, however, and never apologized for her vote."

When her term neared completion two years later, Rankin was certain she would not win re-election and chose not to run again. She continued to be an active advocate for pacifism, and led a campaign against the Vietnam War in 1968 when she was 87 years old"

http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/tdih ... y=10272973