Army drops two charges against resister

Lt. Ehren Watada will face two fewer charges when he is brought before a military court-martial on Feb. 5 in Ft. Lewis, Wash. The Army dropped two of four charges of “conduct unbecoming an officer”; as a result, it also dropped subpoenas against two reporters, which had stirred up considerable protest regarding freedom of the press.

Lt. Ehren Watada

Watada still faces a heavy charge of “missing movement” for his refusal of conscience to deploy to Iraq, as well as two charges of “conduct unbecoming” based on anti-war statements he made during public speeches. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to four years’ confinement.

While courts-martial are stacked against defendants even more than trials in civilian courts, the Army too has to weigh the political consequences of dealing a harsh sentence to a popular junior officer for refusing to fight an unpopular, ugly war.

Watada, who entered the military with patriotic motives and found himself lied to and deceived regarding the Iraq war, has publicly argued that “to stop an illegal and unjust war, the soldiers can choose to stop fighting it.” The Army is trying to punish him for saying these words at a Veterans for Peace national convention last summer—powerful words, but protected under the Constitution.

Watada’s case has been closely supported by the growing anti-war movement. His father, Bob Watada, spoke to the massive rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 27. That same day Watada’s mother, Carolyn Ho, addressed the protest in San Francisco. Lt. Watada himself was one of the main speakers to over 1,000 people at the Seattle protest, where he received a prolonged ovation.

In Seattle, Watada ended by comparing the U.S. occupation of Iraq to what it would have been like if Britain or France had intervened in the U.S. Civil War: “What if they killed President Abraham Lincoln, put the South in charge of the country and changed the Constitution to benefit French and British companies?” he said. “If we truly believe in democracy we must listen to what the Iraqis want.” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Jan. 28)

To prosecute the case against Watada, the Army had attempted to subpoena two reporters—independent journalist Sarah Olson of Oakland, Calif., and Greg Kakesako of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin—and force them to testify concerning the lieutenant’s words. Watada is from Hawaii and his parents are well-known public figures there.

The Army decided to drop the subpoenas on Jan. 29 after a campaign to defend the right of the media to report on cases of dissenters had begun to pick up support from the National Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, PEN American Center, Military Reporters and Editors, and many individual writers and journalists.

In a statement, Olson said, “This should be seen as a victory for the rights of journalists in the U.S. to gather and disseminate news free from government intervention, and for the rights of individuals to express personal, political opinions to journalists without fear of retribution or censure. I am glad the growing number of dissenting voices within the military will retain their rights to speak with reporters. But I note with concern that Lt. Watada still faces prosecution for exercising his First Amendment rights during public presentations.”

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