Eugene Weekly : News : 08.17.06

Resisting an Illegal War

Refusenik Lt. Ehren Watada won't be silenced.

By Kera Abraham

PHOTO CREDIT: JAMES PATERSON, THANKYOULT.ORG

U.S. Army Lt. Ehren Watada made headlines on June 7, when he publicly refused Iraq War duty on moral and legal grounds. He is now doing administrative work at Fort Lewis, Wash., awaiting military trial on charges of missing movement, conduct unbecoming an officer and contempt toward officials. If convicted, he could face more than seven years in prison. EW spoke with him by phone on Aug. 13, four days before his pre-trial hearing.

When you began to speak out about your decision not to deploy to Iraq, were you aware that your statements could lead to additional charges?

I knew it was a possibility, but I felt that it was necessary to state publicly why I was refusing the orders to go. I felt that the war was unlawful, and the reasons they led us into war were an unlawful deception. The U.N. mandate that prohibits preemptive war says nations cannot start wars with other countries unless there is a clear and imminent threat, and Iraq was not. Not to mention the conduct of the war, which violates the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions and humanitarian laws.

Some would argue that you've disobeyed a soldier's duty to follow orders.

I think that all officers should consider, given the time and circumstances, what they're being asked to do. You don't want a military that follows all orders without question. That's the difference between the army of a free and democratic society and a dictatorship. One has to decide for himself if it's right or wrong. If you don't, then the dangerous path of the military is that you'll have these Abu Ghraibs persisting, now and until the future. When the military is caught, of course it's scandal, and they blame the lowest-ranking soldiers.

Why do you think the U.S. military remains in Iraq?

I don't think the Iraqi military can stand on its own. The sectarian violence started with American policy as soon as the regime was toppled. There were strategic mistakes all over the place. You can tell that this administration's military just wasn't prepared for post-Saddam Iraq. Now we are all facing the consequences of that. I think we should withdraw the troops immediately and let the Iraqis stand by themselves. As long as we're there, we will be seen as occupiers.

You joined the Army in March 2003, at the beginning of the Iraq invasion. At what point did you change your mind about the war?

I was ready to go to Iraq in June 2005. At one point I even volunteered to go with any units that were short. In my spare time I started reading anything I could on the Iraq War and war in general, to prepare myself mentally and to prepare the troops under me. I read articles and editorials from both sides: neo-conservative Charles Krauthammer's editorials in The Washington Post, James Bamford's A Pretext for War, Joe Wilson's articles, Richard Clark and Paul O'Neill's revelations that the policy to invade Iraq was established long before 9-11. Yet over 80 percent of the soldiers in Iraq still believe that Saddam had a role in 9-11, and 50 percent of Americans polled believe that there are WMDs in Iraq. That just blows my mind. How much evidence do you need? My crime is that I learned too much.

What kind of criticism are you hearing from the public?

People call me a coward. It's easy to run toward danger when everyone else is, but I am facing seven years in prison for refusing my orders to deploy. I feel the sacrifice of standing up for what we believe in as a country is the same as fighting on the battlefield.

The enemy doesn't have to be that Islamic terrorist out there. The enemy can be here with us, in our own elected officials. If they are doing something to violate the law, I have to do something to stop it.

Your dad, the retired director of the Hawaiian Campaign Spending Commission, has been speaking out publicly on your behalf, and right-wingers have been hard on him. How does it make you feel to see him under attack?

I would have done this regardless, but it's so much easier with my family beside me. But they put themselves out there, just like me, and they are subject to attack, just like me. My father had a lot of enemies already; he was responsible for the convictions of numerous politicians and businessmen. A lot of people say, "Like father, like son." You're gonna have the right-wingers say what they say, and what can you do? If they feel so strongly, I tell them, "Pick up a rifle and go to Iraq."

In your June 7 video, you said, "Normally, those in the military have allowed others to speak for them and act on their behalf. I believe that time has come to an end." What did you mean by that?

There's an unspoken code that we don't speak out on political issues; we do our job. It's OK in the military to say you support the war, but if you speak out against it you're going to get shot down. And we expect the politicians to speak on our behalf. I waited for that, and I looked at the administration, and all they wanted to do was hold themselves above the law, and Congress let them. And then I saw the American people, who we sacrifice for, just carry on. American Idol is more important, baseball and basketball and soccer practice and finals are more important. There isn't a draft, so no one has to worry about a brother or sister or father going off to war. If you don't have any vested interest in the war — and they don't, because less than 1 percent of the American population serves in the military — you're not going to do anything. You just watch Fox news and read the headlines, and that's it.

Do you feel that other American wars have been illegal?

Yeah, certainly. At the beginning a lot of people said, "It's nothing like Vietnam." Now a lot of people say it's worse, and these are veterans from both wars. The Tonkin Resolution and the resolution to authorize war in Iraq are the same thing: going to war on false premises. The evidence points to widespread war crimes and atrocities in Vietnam, and the investigations were buried, stifled and covered up. Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki said, "Hadithas are happening every day," but Haditha wasn't even in the news until Time investigated and [Rep.] John Murtha got involved. It's just inevitable in an occupation that was fumbled from the start and a war that is wrong, morally and lawfully. American soldiers have no business occupying other countries. You're going to be party, directly or indirectly, to war crimes.

You say that the President broke the law, yet you're the one facing imprisonment.

I guess you could say that it's ironic. And then you ask, why isn't the president being investigated? It's because Congress protects him. You have [House Democratic Leader] Nancy Pelosi saying, "We're not going to impeach the president." But if enough states pass a resolution, they can force Congress to start impeachment investigations, even though Congress hasn't lifted a finger.

What do you see as the best possible outcome of your actions?

That I force all members of the military, even American citizens, to evaluate what we're doing in this war, how they're contributing to it, and to say "No" to something that is wrong. And to give encouragement to those in the military who feel the same way. I know that I have touched some soldiers, because I get letters that say, "Thank you for doing what you're doing. I regret going to Iraq every day." Of course I get hate mail too, but you expect it. I told myself if I could just touch one soldier, that would be worth it. And even if I didn't touch one soldier, I still have my conscience, which is free, and that's the most important thing.

A shorter version of this interview appeared in the Aug. 17 print issue of Eugene Weekly. Lt. Watada's father, Bob Watada, will visit Eugene on Aug. 29; see next week's paper for details. For more info on Lt. Watada, visit www.thankyoult.org