Army officer faces court-martial for Bush comments

[Monsoon65]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061109/ap_on_re_us/war_objector



This guy is in a hole and he's digging!!!

[Matta mile]

Its OK to have an opinion but this guy's actions are disgraceful at every level.
He is lucky he is not facing a firing squad as a result of willfully missing a major deployment during war time.
And to think its a volunteer Army.
Hope he gets the max, I'll send his cowardly ass a letter in jail everyday that he is there.
MM

[The Reaper]

A coward, a fool, a disgrace to the uniform, but most of all, a tool of the anti-war crowd.

Used like a sports car on Bragg Boulevard.

TR

[Simple Simon]

He disgusts me. Pansie.

[Airbornelawyer]

As I stated in the earlier thread on Watada, the Army compromised and did a disservice to all those who serve their country and fulill their oath faithfully. Soldiers of 3rd BCT, 2ID risk their lives for their country, and this POS has to worry about little more than 6 years at Leavenworth and a book deal.

Watada did not just miss a troop movement. He is a deserter, and a deserter in time of war may be punished by death. "Any member of the armed forces who ... quits his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service.... is guilty of desertion. Any commissioned officer of the armed forces who, after tender of his resignation and before notice of its acceptance, quits his post or proper duties without leave and with intent to remain away therefrom permanently is guilty of desertion. Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct... ."

Personally, as I noted before, I think he should have been under Article 99 as well, also a death penalty offense. There is no simple "front line" in this war, and actions in Washington state are just as much "in the presence of the enemy," who can read that AP report as easily as you or I, as actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Earlier thread: http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11044

[Team Sergeant]

A coward, a fool, a disgrace to the uniform, but most of all, a tool of the anti-war crowd.

Used like a sports car on Bragg Boulevard.

TR

After reading about this guy it would seem he might have joined with the intent to make headlines. Kinda wonder who put him up to it..... he ain't smart enough to think for himself....:rolleyes:

TS

[bost1751]

The judicial process is much to slow and much to good for this POS. The military will continue to spend way too much money and time on someone not deserving of either. Take care of hime one of two ways:
team rope him and tear him in half or
hang him (upside down), bleed him out, gut him & skin him.
Either way is fast and to the point. Bosth save time and money.

I agree with TS, there is more than meets the eye on this clown.

[incommin]

You all forget.....we now have a kinder and gentile Army...... He will go to court, the court will slap his hand, and they will then let him go....... That seems to be the trend today....... be political correct in all you do or say.......

I hope I am wrong and they lock him up for 10 years......... execution is out of the political question......

Jim

[bost1751]

Jim:

I agree with you on all. I do not think the military will much do at all to him even though I still think a hanging is in order. Our society wants to forgive him for we have misunderstood him somehow. He is not a bad person, just does not support the action that many of our young soldiers had made the ultimate sacrifice for. He will continue to walk through society, stealing the oxygen from good, honest , brave men. Somehow he will be compensated for the "unjust" actions brought against him. The one thing I truely hope for is he is never tried in front of a civilian jury. I still like the team roping concept, using big, stout quarter horses.

[Trip_Wire (RIP)]

I somehow doubt that he will get what he justly deserves! I like the drawn & quartered punisment! :D

[Guy]

You all forget.....we now have a kinder and gentile Army...... He will go to court, the court will slap his hand, and they will then let him go....... That seems to be the trend today....... be political correct in all you do or say.......

I hope I am wrong and they lock him up for 10 years......... execution is out of the political question......

JimStay safe.

[Monsoon65]

......... execution is out of the political question......

That's what tightens my colon these days. No executions. Ass-hats in the military and the civil service are caught spying for foreign governments and they get 20 years in jail. Big deal. They ought to raffle off their execution to anyone in uniform to whoever bids the highest for it. Heck, pay just my per diem and I'd do it for free. With an e-tool.

[7624U]

1st Lt. Ehren Watada, Please stand for your sentence.
This court-martial hearing finds you guilty!
(1 count) of conduct unbecoming an officer.
We also find you guilty of deserting your unit in a time of war!
It is with great pleasure we have came to a final Dession on your Punishmet.

(Lt Watada you will Dress in your Class A uniform and board a awaiting C17 transport plane, from there you will fly directly over sea's to be united with your Unit. Be advised you will be making a Parachue jump at 1200ft AGL
at 1300 local time.) do you have any questions ?

(But Sir) Im not airborne qualified!!!!!

(reply) you will be when you make that jump!!!

(Sir) there must be some mistake im asigned to a striker BN they are a MECH
unit.

(reply) you got a transfer to the 173d PIR

(Sir) why the 173d in italy ?

(reply) The 173d is not in italy! they have been redeployed and are
in heavy fighting in Tal Far IRAQ Dont worry they know who you are
and your mission we are confident they will have everything aranged
when you get there.

(GULP!) What is my mission sir ?

(reply) Prisoner Exchange !!! (6 iraqi fighters and 1 shit bag officer !!!)
in exchange for a wounded pvt. ( I think we got the better deal dont you Lt?):D

[Gene Econ]

(Sir) there must be some mistake im asigned to a striker BN they are a MECH unit.

7.624U:

Please -- a SBCT is not a mech outfit. It is an SBCT -- way different in doctrine and TOE than a conventional mech outfit.

Watada is in the FA Battalion of 3/2 SBCT. A good freind of mine took command of this Battalion about a month prior to deployment. Thats when this Watada guy popped up and started his crap.

Watada wanted to be in the Army just to have it on his resume. His real desire is to be a Democrat politician in Hawaii and he seems to have modeled his concept of a future after Kerry. Serve only to say you have served and then become an Anti-American hate monger -- like Kerry.

The local communists and hate America first crowd around here aren't using Watada. Watada is part of them and is happy to be part of them.

Two guys out of 3/2 SBCT got killed yesterday in fact. Watada should be sentenced to death by hanging.

Gene

[highspeedmdd]

If there is anyone who might like to send him a letter of encouragement, his e-mail is:

deleted

But **only** if you have something nice or constructive to say...

[brownapple]

"Hanged by the neck until dead" is the only punishment this shitbird should get.

[Five-O]

I can see an 11B PFC home on leave recognizing him in a local bar and beating him to a pulp. It would be tragic.

[x SF med]

I can see an 11B PFC home on leave recognizing him in a local bar and beating him to a pulp. It would be tragic.


Extremely tragic, PFC Snuffy might bruise his knuckles on the bonehead's cranium.

[soldierdoc_2005]

Used like a sports car on Bragg Boulevard.

TR

LMAO!

I was just there last week, and the cars and women have the same traits...!!

[The Reaper]

There might just be some justice in military justice.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,250216,00.html

TR

Army Officer Faces Court-Martial This Week for Refusing to Go to Iraq

Sunday, February 04, 2007

SEATTLE — Denied a chance to debate the legality of the Iraq war in court, an Army officer who refused to go to Iraq now goes to trial hoping to at least minimize the amount of time he could serve if convicted.

Anti-war activists consider 1st Lt. Ehren Watada a hero, but the Army accuses him of betraying his fellow soldiers.

The 28-year-old faces four years in prison if convicted on one count of missing movement and two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer for refusing to ship out with his unit, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

Watada has spoken out against U.S. military involvement in Iraq, calling it morally wrong and a breach of American law.

"As the order to take part in an illegal act is ultimately unlawful as well, I must as an officer of honor and integrity refuse that order," Watada said in a video statement released at a June 7 news conference.

"Though the American soldier wants to do right, the illegitimacy of the occupation itself, the policies of this administration, and the rules of engagement of desperate field commanders will ultimately force them to be party to war crime," Watada said then.

Watada and his Honolulu attorney, Eric Seitz, contend his comments are protected speech, but Army prosecutors argued his behavior was dangerous to the mission and morale of other soldiers.

"He betrayed his fellow soldiers who are now serving in Iraq," Capt. Dan Kuecker said at one hearing. Kuecker has not commented on the case outside of court.

Seitz unsuccessfully sought an opportunity to argue the legality of the war, saying it violated Army regulations that specify wars are to be waged in accordance with the United Nations charter. His final attempt was quashed last month when the military judge, Lt. Col. John Head, ruled Watada cannot base his defense on the war's legality. Head also rejected claims that Watada's statements were protected by the First Amendment.

The Army had subpoenaed two journalists who interviewed Watada, drawing criticism from free-press advocates, but that fell by the wayside as prosecutors dropped two of the four counts of misconduct in exchange for Watada admitting he made statements to freelance journalist Sarah Olson and Greg Kakesako of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

"This should be seen as a victory for the rights of journalists in the U.S. to gather and disseminate news free from government intervention, and for the rights of individuals to express personal, political opinions to journalists without fear of retribution or censure," Olson said in an e-mail message.

Military law experts said that, by confining themselves to the missing movement charge, prosecutors might have saved themselves from arguing some of the legal issues relating to free speech.

"It's desirable that they're abandoning the path of using reporters as witnesses," said Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice in Washington, D.C. "It's a very toxic strategy."

Fidell wasn't surprised, however, that the government rejected a deal offered by Seitz that would have had Watada serve only three months confinement with a dishonorable discharge.

"Why should they? He missed a movement of his unit," he said. "No army can tolerate officers refusing to move with their unit."

[Warrior-Mentor]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061109/ap_on_re_us/war_objector



This guy is in a hole and he's digging!!!

yahoo dumped the story [dead link]

[Sionnach]

Watada's court-martial was declared a mistrial :mad:

-S

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070208/ap_on_re_us/war_objector

FORT LEWIS, Wash. - A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in the court-martial of an Army lieutenant who refused to deploy to
Iraq, saying the soldier did not fully understand a document he signed in which he admitted to elements of the charges.


Prosecutors said 1st Lt. Ehren Watada admitted in the document that he had a duty to go to Iraq with his fellow soldiers.

But Watada, under questioning with the military jury absent, said he had intended to admit only that he had not gone to Iraq, not that he was duty-bound to deploy to Iraq with his unit.

Military judge Lt. Col. John Head set a March 19 date for a new trial and dismissed the jurors. Watada's lawyer objected to the mistrial and said a second one would amount to double jeopardy — more than one prosecution for the same alleged crime.

Watada, 28, of Honolulu, had been expected to testify in his own defense Wednesday.

He is the first commissioned officer to be court-martialed for refusing to go to Iraq, said Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice in Washington, D.C.

In the 12-page stipulation of fact he signed last month, Watada acknowledged that he refused to deploy last June with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and that he made public statements criticizing the Iraq war. Watada has said he refused to go to Iraq because he believes the war is illegal.

In exchange, prosecutors dropped two charges of conduct unbecoming an officer against him. He remains charged with missing movement — for his refusal to deploy — and two other allegations of conduct unbecoming an officer for comments made about the case. He could receive four years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if convicted.

When the disagreement over Watada's admission surfaced, the judge indicated he was unsure whether he could accept the document. Since much of the Army's evidence was laid out in it, prosecutors requested the mistrial. Watada's attorney, Eric Seitz, opposed the request.

After the mistrial was declared, Seitz said he didn't think his client could be tried again because it would be the equivalent of double jeopardy. Should the Army proceed with a second trial, Seitz said he would seek dismissal of the charges with prejudice so they could not be refiled.

If that request is not granted, he will appeal, he said.

"Our hope is, at this point, that the Army will realize that this case is a hopeless mess," Seitz said.

Lt. Col. Robert Resnick of the Judge Advocate General's office at Fort Lewis said double jeopardy does not apply.

In their opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors said Watada abandoned his soldiers and brought disgrace upon himself and the service by accusing the Army of war crimes and denouncing the Bush administration.

Seitz countered that Watada acted in good conscience, based on his own convictions.

[Surgicalcric]

...He remains charged with missing movement — for his refusal to deploy — and two other allegations of conduct unbecoming an officer for comments made about the case. He could receive four years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if convicted....

Why is this (insert colorful adjective) not being charged with desertion is what I wanna know? There are young men in Iraq right now fighting and dying and this piece-o-shit may get 4 F-N years. That in itself is a crime.

Crip

[The Reaper]

How could they screw something this simple up?:rolleyes:

His unit and him men are in Iraq, he is not. He has spoken out against the war and his elected leadership, all on tape.:mad:

TR

[82ndtrooper]

Ehren Matada, while serving time, although limited, will enjoy the spoils of the left anti-war crowd. While serving time he'll write his literary biography of the life and times of Ehren Matada, which will be embraced by the left, and published with the help of George Soros. The NY Times will place it on the best sellers list even though copies will sit on the shelves of Barnes and Noble collecting dust. A trick that the NY Times has deplorably pulled when books to their liking have not sold as well as they would like to report.

Cindy Sheehan and Ehren Matada will give speaking engagements to American Univesities and both receive speaking fees for double digit figures. All the while being cheered by the clueless students and facality and staff of the Universities. Ehren Matada will in fact bank a million dollars, purchase a condo on the waterfront in Hawaii, and drive a Mercedes. All the while his soldiers are still digging their way out of financial hardships of having been deployed.

I will attend at least one of his speaking engagements, if he is close enough to drive. My intent will to be dump 12 eggs over his head and wrap him in a KKK Flag !!!

I of course will be charged for a "Hate Crime" and spend time in the Kentucky State prison system.

[jatx]

Why is this (insert colorful adjective) not being charged with desertion is what I wanna know?

Same reason none of the slew of military and civilian security breaches has been aggressively prosecuted. :mad:

[Go For Broke]

:


Watada wanted to be in the Army just to have it on his resume. His real desire is to be a Democrat politician in Hawaii and he seems to have modeled his concept of a future after Kerry. Serve only to say you have served and then become an Anti-American hate monger -- like Kerry.


Gene

Sir,

Funny thing about Hawai'i...even though it is a Democrat state...it does support the military being there...and the kama'aina / locals have a long memory. Was out there back when this first popped up...the calls in to the local radio stations were none too kind to his predicament...they still remember the 100th Bn / 442nd RCT...and the fact that he is an AJA will probably work to his disadvantage in this case (at least I hope so). Interesting part about some of the calls in, were that they all mentioned that he should be ashamed of himself, and that he was bringing dishonor on the family / the AJAs.

V/R,