Thursday - February 08, 2007

Leftenant Declares The War In Iraq Is Illegal

Lt. Ehren Watada needs to be clapped in irons and frog-marched to the stockade - and left there to pound big rocks into little rocks for the next forty years. That is my decision.

“But, Skipper” you ask, “What gives you the right to pass judgment on this man?”

I’ll tell you what right. It’s the same right that allows Lt. Watada to unilaterally declare the the war in Iraq is illegal, therefore he is relieved of the obligation to report because to do so would mean following an “illegal order” which officers are allowed to do. This has to be the lamest excuse to avoid duty that I have ever heard and the full weight of the UCMJ needs to drop on his pointy little head.

An “illegal order” is when someone over you orders you to shoot unarmed prisoners or murder civilians or something along those lines. “Soldier, report for duty” is not an illegal order. On top of that the contention that the war itself is illegal fails the test because the Commander In Chief ordered it and the US Congress approved it by a wide 77-23 margin.

But no, this Lieutenant has placed himself above the law and is speaking out to every leftist, anti-war group in the country to try to gather support for his defense which hasn’t a legal leg to stand on. In other words .... Cindy Sheehan in uniform.

Now he’s trying to get other service members to follow his lead and violate their oath. Here is an excerpt from his most recent speech. The full text is at the link at the bottom of the quote ...

We have all seen this war tear apart our country over the past three years. It seems as though nothing we’ve done, from vigils to protests to letters to Congress, has had any effect in persuading the powers that be. Today, I speak with you about a radical idea. It is one born from the very concept of the American soldier (or service member). It became instrumental in ending the Vietnam War, but it has been long since forgotten. The idea is this: that to stop an illegal and unjust war, soldiers can choose to stop fighting it.

Now it is not an easy task for the soldier for he or she must be aware that they are being used for ill-gain. They must hold themselves responsible for individual action. They must remember duty to the Constitution and the people supersedes the ideologies of their leadership. The American soldier must rise above the socialization that tells them authority should always be obeyed without question. Awareness of the history of atrocities and destruction committed in the name of America—either through direct military intervention or by proxy war—is crucial.

They must realize that this is a war not of self-defense, but by choice, for profit and imperialistic domination. WMD, ties to Al Qaeda, and ties to 9/11 never existed and never will. The soldier must know that our narrowly and questionably elected officials intentionally manipulated the evidence presented to Congress, the public, and the world to make the case for war. They must know that neither Congress nor this Administration has the authority to violate the prohibition against pre-emptive war— an American law that still stands today. Though the American soldier wants to do right, they must know some of these facts, if not all, in order to act.

-- Lt. Ehren Watada, “Soldiers Must Choose To Stop Fighting”

UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE

Article. 90. ASSAULTING OR WILLFULLY
DISOBEYING SUPERIOR COMMISSIONED OFFICER

Any person subject to this chapter who--

(1) strikes his superior commissioned officer or draws or lifts up any weapon or offers any violence against him while he is in the execution of his officer; or

(2) willfully disobeys a lawful command of his superior commissioned officer;

shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, and if the offense is committed at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.

_{(Full text of the UCMJ here)}

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/08/2007 at 12:41 PM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Judges-Courts-Lawyers • Military •  
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