A Courageous Army Officer: Ehren Watada

Ehren Watada, is the first commissioned officer to refuse to participate in the illegal Iraq War.

Ehren joined the US Army in 2003 and in January 2006 he submitted a resignation request on the grounds the Iraq War was illegal. He developed strong doubts about the war and concluded the Iraq War violated the Constitution and War Powers Act as well as the UN Charter, the Geneva Conventions, and the Nuremberg Principles. Ehren correctly observes that international law does not allow "wars of aggression." Further, he correctly claimed the war was based on misleading or false premises such as the existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, and that the occupation itself does not follow the Army's own legal rules of conduct for occupying a country.

Ehren's court martial in February 2007 ended in an Army-contrived mistrial. In October 2007, the Army attempt to have a second court martial was stopped by a Federal judge who ruled that a second court martial would be double jeopardy. But the Army has not allowed Lt. Watada to leave military service. Instead, they have notified the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit of their plans to appeal the double jeopardy ruling. The Army has also threatened to revive old charges stemming from Lt. Watada's speech in Seattle to the 2006 convention of Veterans For Peace.

Ehren is a threat to the Pentagon machine as this one man shines the light of truth on the fact that all members of the United States military are legally required to refuse to fight an illegal war.

For the above reasons, Ehren is a lightning rod of courage for both people whether they are in or out of the military.

Click on the below video to hear Ehren shine the light of truth on a war that is bankrupting the finances of our country and more importantly our good name.

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