Erin Watada: American Hero
Despite yesterday's declaration of a mistrial in 1st Lt. Erin Watada's court-martial, it's still possible the 28 year old war resister from Olympia will still end up facing up to six years in prison. Watada was not willing to deploy to an illegal and immoral war in Iraq, but he is willing to sacrifice his personal freedom for his beliefs, and the beliefs of a growing majority of Americans.
The chickenhawks will squawk that Watada gave up any choice when he enlisted with the Army, which of course belies the notion of a "volunteer" army. This page has noticed a dearth of coverage in the Watada case outside of the Northwest, which leads me to believe that someone doesn't want to remin the American public of their inalienable right to become informed, and on the basis of that information, change their minds.
By all reports, Watada is the first officer to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq. If the Army does in fact have an officer corps recruited on the basis of intelligence and sound judgement, he won't be the last.
Despite yesterday's declaration of a mistrial in 1st Lt. Erin Watada's court-martial, it's still possible the 28 year old war resister from Olympia will still end up facing up to six years in prison. Watada was not willing to deploy to an illegal and immoral war in Iraq, but he is willing to sacrifice his personal freedom for his beliefs, and the beliefs of a growing majority of Americans.
The chickenhawks will squawk that Watada gave up any choice when he enlisted with the Army, which of course belies the notion of a "volunteer" army. This page has noticed a dearth of coverage in the Watada case outside of the Northwest, which leads me to believe that someone doesn't want to remin the American public of their inalienable right to become informed, and on the basis of that information, change their minds.
By all reports, Watada is the first officer to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq. If the Army does in fact have an officer corps recruited on the basis of intelligence and sound judgement, he won't be the last.
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