Army Officer Calls Iraq "Illegal War," Refuses To Deploy

With Cindy Sheehan having used up her 15 minutes of fame (and probably gone a little too moon-batty for even the media to cover up) the anti-war crowd was in dire need of a news spokesman.

Looks like they just found him.

In a rare case of officer dissent, a Fort Lewis Army lieutenant has refused orders to head out to Iraq this month to lead troops in what he believes is an illegal war of occupation.

1st Lt. Ehren Watada's Stryker brigade is scheduled to make its first deployment to Iraq this month. His refusal to accompany these troops puts him at risk of court-martial and years of prison time.

"I feel that we have been lied to and betrayed by this administration," Watada said Tuesday in a telephone interview from Fort Lewis. "It is the duty, the obligation of every soldier, and specifically the officers, to evaluate the legality, the truth behind every order — including the order to go to war."

In making his decision, Watada has reached out to peace groups, including clergy, students, some veterans opposed to Iraq and others. Some war critics are raising money for his legal defense as they seek to galvanize broader opposition to Bush administration policy in Iraq.

"There has been an outpouring of support in the Puget Sound area," said David Solnit, who works with the anti-war group Courage to Resist. The group and others are helping organize a press conference today in Tacoma to launch the support campaign.

What is sad is that while battle-hardened veterans of the war in Iraq re-enlist en masse for multiple tours of duty (a trend largely ignored by the media) Mr. Watada and his "stand" against this "illegal war" will no doubt be making headlines for months.

What we need to remember is this: Most soldiers support our foreign policy in Iraq. The majority of troops voted for President Bush in 2004, which was an election dominated by the issue of Iraq. Lt. Watada does is not representative of the average soldier.

I hope Lt. Watada is courtmartialed immediately and charged with dereliction of duty (or whatever charge applies). All he's doing is making his fellow soldier's service that much more difficult.

You can read more from Rob Port at SayAnythingBlog.com