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Editorial: Resistance to war cannot be jailed »

Posted by: Spadecaller 2 years, 9 months ago

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"You can jail the resisters, but you can't jail the resistance. George W. Bush, take notice, as U.S. Army Lt. Ehren Watada is court-martialed next week." The first commissioned officer refused deployment to Iraq claiming illegality and immorality of a war launched under false pretenses is court-martialed next week.

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Spadecaller

Welcome to my profile. About me: I'm an artist of several kinds; from bull to painting. I don't spare too many words. Most ...

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Comments: 25

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Amazing1
Feb. 2, 2007, 10:36 a.m.
The resistance will only grow with every prosecution put forward by the administration. Just as they do not realize it in Iraq, they do not realize that here they have already lost.
It is time to write, protest, resist and demand impeachment for the entire cabal.
Z
Avg rating: (+6/-4 2)
Spadecaller
Feb. 2, 2007, 10:59 a.m.
Dissent within the military against the war in Iraq is growing. Iraq Veterans Against the War has quadrupled in size in the past year. More than 1,200 soldiers have signed on to an "Appeal for Redress," with which active-duty soldiers can appeal to Congress for an end to the war with legal protections against retaliation from the military. The appeal simply reads:
"As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq. Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home."
My son, who is in Baghadad, urges our political leaders in Congress to support a prompt withdrawal as well.
Avg rating: (+11/-0 11)
jordan11
Feb. 2, 2007, 11:44 a.m.
I remember when Johnson signed a bill that would give a five year jail sentence for burning a draft card. Hundreds of young men across the country, burned their draft cards in public. Trying to bully people only makes them mad. This administration is as stupid as Johnson's was on that score.
Avg rating: (+0/-0 0)
rickcb
Feb. 2, 2007, 11:38 p.m.
I often use quotes to emphasize my point in these message boards. The people that I quote are far wiser than you or I, and I think that their words should live on. Had we listened to their words the first time around I would have to repeat them now! But I don't think that I've ever run into a quote that fits the circumstances quite the way that this one does.
"Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty." -Mahatma Gandhi
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Searunner52
Feb. 3, 2007, 7:42 a.m.
Yeah sparky - you claim that you are on our side too, but I seriously doubt that you are for you see we represent America and you represent blind loyality to a failure!
Avg rating: (+2/-0 2)
Searunner52
Feb. 3, 2007, 7:40 a.m.
The fact is sparky that the efforts of Tokyo Rose actually backfired and that the overwhelming majority of American men and women in combat treated her as a joke!
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Gangrene
Feb. 3, 2007, 5:17 a.m.
"A military judge ruled Watada cannot present evidence challenging the war's legality or explain what motivated him to resist his deployment order."
So what is this guy supposed to do sit there while he's railroaded? If he's not allowed to offer anything to substantiate his defense then why are they even Court Martialing him?
The military is just afraid that if one person shows how and why they've resisted their orders the rest might follow.
Avg rating: (+4/-0 4)
marlenebomer
Feb. 3, 2007, 8:21 a.m.
Sorry, sniper... but a soldier has a duty not only to NOT follow an order he or she feels is illegal or immoral, but could actually be court martialed if they don't report said orders!
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Searunner52
Feb. 3, 2007, 4:24 p.m.
Snipe - you know as well as I do that you have the right to refuse an order if you believe that order to be wrong or issued in bad faith. Hell that was drilled into us at PI back in the old days and you even had the right to request that order in writing!
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kobzikov
Feb. 6, 2007, 12:41 a.m.
I might be ranting here, but I think this needs to be said.
Whether you agree or disagree with Ehren Watada, I think he deserves nothing but respect for his decision. It's a rare case nowadays when you see someone not just stand up for their principles, but to put their career and future on the line for those ideals.
I think it takes great courage to do what Lt. Ehren Watada did, to stand against corrupt system especially with the knoweledge that he has practically no chance of winning against it. And I for one am grateful that there are people like Ehren Watada who serve, or more exactly who used to serve in US Army. So I think it would be amiss if I did not thank him for his service, since he is one of the few people that makes me proud to be an citizen of this country.