Stand with Lt. Ehren Watada Against Illegal and Immoral War in Iraq"My fellow soldiers are fighting and dying in Iraq and their families are suffering because of the lies and deceptions crafted by the Bush Administration. The Iraq war is not only a crime against domestic and international law but [it] is a terrible moral injustice against the Iraqi people." Lt. Ehren Watada (CONTINUED BELOW)
Before we continue with a letter from Lt. Watada's mother, I need to say this: Life is not black and white, and human emotions change. Sometimes we incorporate conflicting nuances of behavior, and cannot be categorized one way or another. I am in conflict over my anger at our president, George Bush, as most of my fellow Americans are. First of all, we don't think he won the 2001 election fairly, and with every cell of my being we knew this war was evil. War should always be a last resort, but Invading Iraq was not a "last resort." Certain powers-that-be are engaged in war profiteering. This is criminal. How dare he put our young people in harms way, and destroy the beautiful Iraqi nation, just to enrich Haliburton, Cheney and other billionaire friends with "no-bid" contracts! The Iraqi people are builders too. They have their own higher power. Let them take care of their nation, even if they have to fight it out in a civil war at this point. We are only continuing to stir up a hornet's nest.
So the only way we can express our horror and sadness is by writing or taking to the streets. Last year, with the illegal wiretapping and the monopoly of the airwaves by big-business evangelicals —I did not feel I was in a Democracy. It felt like a dictatorship. Still, I don't feel it helps to call our president an idiot or a moron. Here is what I posted yesterday, and will repeat here: "I struggled with my anger toward Bush, because I know it doesn't heal things. But I feel such agony over the deaths of our soldiers — young kids barely out of high school — and I am so horrified that Bush doesn't seem to care about human life, that I lash out. I am angry at the way Bush is expanding this senseless, insane "war" he created. But I know that thinking the worst of Bush, or anyone, never helps them. Our thoughts about people and situations have to elevate them. We have to see the good in people, even those we think are evil. This is prayer: seeing the good in others so overwhelmingly that our vision of them actually changes the situation. Even with terrorists, dictators, "deciders" — and in the environment, world affairs, financial crises — it works for our worst enemies. George Bush will be lifted up and he will do the right thing, the more we send him love. " For more on the metaphysical answers to life, see below: yesterday's blog. - Lydia
MORE ON LT. WATADA:
As the first Army officer to publicly speak out against the war and refuse deployment to Iraq, Lt Watada will be punished by the U.S. Army with a maximum six years in prison. The military's intention IS to SILENCE VOICES OF RESISTANCE and make an example out of Lt. Watada.
Letter from Carolyn Ho – Mother of Lt Watada
Dear Friends, On behalf of Lt. Watada and our family, thank you for standing with us during this most difficult time. Because of his refusal to deploy to the illegal and immoral Iraq War, my son now faces a maximum of 6 years in a military prison. The pretrial is scheduled for Jan. 4, 2007. The court martial is calendared for Feb. 5, 2007.
We are just days away from the pretrial and must broaden his support base. Help us mobilize the local, national, and international community through your personal, professional, religious and other networks. Please forward the attached email alert with a brief explanation. Ask people to go to: www.thankyoult.org to learn more about Lt. Watada's case. On the main menu, supporters can click on SIGN PETITION/GET UPDATES AND ALERTS. They will receive weekly email updates that call for actions in support of Lt. Watada's stand.
Encourage your contacts to integrate these actions into the anti-war activism they are already doing. Their voices are critical to building an international public opinion campaign that demands justice and no punishment for Lt. Watada. His voice of resistance to this heinous war cannot be silenced!
In Solidarity,
Carolyn Ho (Lt. Watada’s Mother)
"The war in Iraq is in fact illegal. It is my obligation and my duty to refuse any orders to participate in this war. An order to take part in an illegal war is unlawful in itself. So my obligation is not to follow the order to go to Iraq." - Lt. Ehren Watada
NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
Feb. 5, 2007 - Lt. Watada Military Court Martial
Rally at the gates of Ft. Lewis, Washington or in your local community
5 Actions to Support Lt. Watada
1. Send letters or call Commander Dubik. Urge him to:
* Dismiss all charges
* Honor Lt. Watada's resignation
Lt. General James Dubik
Commanding General Fort Lewis
1 Corps Building 2025 Stop 1
Fort Lewis, WA 98433
Phone 253-967-1110
2. Spread the word about Feb. 5, 2007. Forward this email and post on blogs, MySpace, student, activist, social justice and media websites. Register for campaign updates.
3. Encourage your organization to endorse the National Day of Action and mobilize on Feb. 5, 2007. Please specify national, state, city, chapter/local, and contact person, and send to action@ltwatada.org.
4. Organize a student walkout, rally or vigil on Feb. 5, 2007. Tell us about your action so we can include your event on our website.
5. Donate online to Lt. Watada's Defense Fund.
website: www.thankyoult.org
January 20-22, 2007
Citizens' Hearings
Evergreen State College, Tacoma campus
Tacoma, WA
February 5, 2007
Court Martial Trial Begins
For more information contact info@ltwatada.org. Make your 2007 New Year's Resolution to Stand with Lt. Watada Against Illegal and Immoral War
On Monday, February 5, 2007 take action against the Iraq war and in support of Lt. Watada during his military court martial. Stand up with Lt. Watada and speak out against the illegal and immoral war! Join the national movement and organize student walkouts and non-violent demonstrations. Together let's build a mass movement in the streets, in our schools, and in our communities to end the Iraq War. On Feb. 5, 2007 rally at the gates of Fort Lewis, Washington or in your local community.
For courageously standing up and speaking out against the Iraq War, New Year's Eve 2007 may be Lt. Watada's last holiday as a free man until 2013. While many 28 year-olds are starting their families and building their careers, Ehren will be locked away in military prison for following his conscience and refusing to fight in the Iraq War.
Now it is time for you to follow your conscience and join the national movement to support Lt. Watada and end the Iraq war.
As civilians, the responsibility ultimately falls on us to demand an end to the Iraq war. In fact, we owe it to the soldiers who are fighting and dying in Iraq every day, as well as those resisting the war. We must all stand up and speak out against the war and in support Lt. Ehren Watada!
Currently, the Bush Administration is planning to deploy 30,000 more U.S. troops to Iraq, yet the overwhelming majority of Americans oppose the Iraq war. Since 2003 the war has cost 3,000 U.S. soldiers' lives, approximately 950,000 Iraqi deaths, 2 trillion U.S tax dollars or approximately 8 billion dollars a week. We can no longer stand by and continue to allow this great injustice to occur!
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I urge you all to check out Robert Dreyfuss' recent articles at www.robertdreyfuss.com. He is an expert on Iraq and is often advising Congress. He is published in Rolling Stone, The Nation and Mother Jones. I spoke to him last night and he said he has an article coming out in Washington Monthly in which he describes what will happen if we pull out of Iraq immediately. It will help everyone and bring peace faster.
It is very arrogant of us to think the Iraqis have no ability to solve their own problems. It is arrogant of Bush to think he is the savior of this foreign land, and that they have no relationship with a higher power of their own. Bush is playing God.
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