Ledger

Sparking a contentious debate around campus, Lt. Ehran Watada spoke at the Carwein Auditorium Jan. 24 about his refusal to deploy in support of the Iraq war.

Watada, a Fort Lewis Army officer, is facing court martial proceedings for missing movement and conduct unbecoming an officer after refusing to deploy to Iraq with his Stryker Brigade. His speaking engagement at the University of Washington Tacoma wrapped-up several weeks of a public relations blitz by Watada supporters leading up to his court martial hearings that began Feb. 5.

Not all in attendance supported Watada’s actions. Nick Bubb, ASUWT president and a member of the Navy Reserve, vocalized his opposition by criticizing Watada for leaving his troops behind.

"Don’t you feel that you could do more good over there, with your brothers and sisters in Iraq, than by staying behind?" asked Bubb.

Watada responded that he has not abandoned his troops or their families. Furthermore, he feels that he is protecting soldiers by objecting to the U.S. presence in Iraq, which is hurting our standing in the international community and inflaming secretarian violence.

"Do we want the military blindly obedient to the will of 270 people?" Watada asked, referring to the number in the House of Representatives, who he feels largely determines war policy.

Bubb faced ridicule and criticism from some in the audience for his personal opinion. "There was someone in a group sitting next to me that flipped me off," Bubb said.

One supporter, an 83-year-old mother and student at Tacoma Community College, expressed that she is sick of seeing her sons put in danger, referencing her son who is in the Marine Corps.

The rest of the question and answer session continued as a give-and-take between the two camps, with both touching on the major points that define Watada’s controversial actions. Concerns raised by Watada supporters addressing the Unites State’s declining global standing after going to war with Iraq were countered by dissenters, who felt that it was irresponsible for Watada – a military officer -- to take a stance against the issue.

"For him [Watada] to do what he did, I don’t think he has a right to call himself a soldier. Anybody who won’t go with their fellow man, after taking an oath, and knowing what they’re getting into and backing out of it is a coward – point blank," said Mickey Kugler, a soldier who has deployed to Iraq.

"The war in Iraq violates our systems of checks and balances," Watada said. "It usurps international treaties and conventions that by virtue of the Constitution become American law. The wholesale slaughter and mistreatment of the Iraqi people with only limited accountability is not only a terrible moral injustice, but a contradiction to the Army’s own Law of Land Warfare. My participation would make me party to war crimes."

Watada claimed that he is not a pacifist, but that the Iraq war is illegal and he has a moral duty to refuse deploying in support of it. He pointed out that he swore an oath to the Constitution, not the president – an important difference between the officer and enlisted oaths.

An officer’s oath omits the following wording that is found in the enlisted oath: "…I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me…" According to Watada and his lawyer, this gives military officers implicit permission to question the legality of orders.

However, the circuit judge trying the case ruled that Watada could not use what is known as a "Nuerenberg defense" – one that questions the legality of an order – at his court martial.

Watada stated that it is duty as both a citizen and a soldier to challenge an order’s legal standing, and he is disappointed more soldiers have not. "In a democracy, everyone is a politician," he said.

Wrapping up his speech, Watada quoted the "Silence is Betrayal" speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.

This was the third event in one week that UWT faculty and students participated in regarding the Watada court martial. UWT’s Peace, Justice and Advocacy Group arranged to have Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers, speak at the Washington State History Museum Jan. 19 in support of Watada. That following weekend, several UWT faculty members took part in lining up the Citizen’s Hearing on Iraq, a mock tribunal questioning the legality of the Iraq War.

UWT professors Mike Honey and Turan Kayaoglu directly participated in the Jan. 24 Watada speech. Honey showed an 18 minute film he produced on Watada with the help of Paul Lovelady of the media department and Nathan Ketzner of enrollment services. Kayaoglu preceded Watada’s speech by pointing out key areas of consideration for audience members.

Still, not all those in attendance left with their opinions swayed.

"I think that Lt. Watada chose the wrong time to start his movement," Bubb said. "Under the circumstances that he had, he made the inappropriate decisions for the time. I don’t think that he should be sentenced for speaking out; I do think he should be sentenced for disobeying orders and missing in this movement – and I think he should face the maximum penalty for those offenses."