Jan 17 2007
Poor excuse for an officer won’t get to put war on trial
From the Seattle Times:
In a major blow to the court-martial defense of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, a military judge has ruled that the Fort Lewis Army officer cannot try to justify his refusal to deploy to Iraq by raising questions about the legality of the war.
The ruling released Tuesday sets the stage for a Feb. 5 court-martial trial, where Watada faces up to six years in prison for his failure to join his brigade in Iraq last June and his outspoken attacks on the Bush administration conduct of the war.
Defense attorneys had hoped to argue that the war is illegal, in part, because it violated Army regulations that call for wars to be launched in accordance with the United Nations charter.
Army regulations have nothing to do with launching wars. The Army doesn’t launch a war, Congress does. In any case, we’ve been over this before, the war in Iraq is a legal war. Lt. Watada’s little political tirade is what he’s on trial for anyway (that’s the source of the four “conduct unbecoming” charges). He shouldn’t be allowed to continue it in court.
But in a ruling, Lt. Col. John Head said that “whether the war is lawful” is a political question that could not be judged in a military court.
Head, citing federal court precedents, also rejected defense attorneys’ claim that Watada’s First Amendment rights shielded him from charges relating to his criticism of the war.
Instead, 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.
“We have been stripped of every defense,” said Eric Seitz, a civilian attorney representing Watada. “This is a disciplinary system, not a justice system. Otherwise, we would have been entitled to defend ourselves.”
This has always been the case. Lt. Watada is being tried under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, not civilian law. The court-martial may find him not guilty, but that’s not too likely at this point. Lt. Watada wanted to use the very offenses he’s charged with as a defense against the charges.
That plan has backfired. This weasel will probably get the six years in a military prison that he has coming to him. Even leftist rallies that will try to put the war on trial during his court-martial won’t change that.
Cross posted to Perri Nelson’s Website.
3 Responses to “Poor excuse for an officer won’t get to put war on trial”
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How about that! Shut down by a military tribunal… Just like Jesus!
Oh well. Early adopters always get burned. I still hope he is the first of thousands. The shrub doesn’t deserve loyalty, and real patriots know when to tell a madman to go to hell.
Go, deserters!
It really never ceases to amaze me how much you hate the president.You also don’t appear to agree with the concept of personal honor and responsibility. Lt. Watada swore an oath when he was commissioned. He’s violated that oath of his own free will, showing that he has no personal honor. His "defense" is based upon his unwillingness to take responsibility for his own actions, because "he was lied to".Unfortunately for him, his defense doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.Of course when there is no absolute moral authority, concepts like honor and personal responsibility are meaningless. That’s one of the main reason’s I can’t hold to your philosophies.
The Lt is an embarassment to everyone but his anti war dad who filled his head with the fluff that he is now going to jail over.
The military has a no nonsense approach due to the nature of military service. Had they wanted to liberally interpret the codes, he could have faced the death penalty for disobeying a superior officer in a time of war. He should count his blessings and take his lump for his views like a man instead of whining about how he is justified.
I have zero tolerance and sympathy for this idiot. Possum all i can sau is it now obvious you know nothing about military service and the oath he took.