Anti-war camp gears up for Watada's trial

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Anti-war camp gears up for Watada's trial
Activities, vigils will support soldier who refused Iraq duty

The anti-war movement is moving into position around Fort Lewis this month, preparing a series of activities and vigils for the impending court-martial Feb. 5 of Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada.

Watada is the only U.S. military officer to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq, contending the war is unjustified. He has become a lightning rod for the peace movement since first going public with his objections to the war June 22, refusing to deploy to Iraq with a 4,000- member Stryker Brigade.

Watada, who remains free to come and go, is slated to appear at a pretrial hearing this morning. Defense lawyers and prosecutors are expected to file several motions in preparation for his court-martial. Depending upon the motions, the judge could rule immediately or take several days to decide, Army officials said.

Watada could face up to six years in prison if found guilty of one count of missing a movement and four counts of disobeying an order.

Watada and his lawyers say he first expressed reservations about serving in Iraq last January and quietly stated his objections to serving in Iraq as an immoral and illegal war, going public when his objections went nowhere.

Watada, a Stryker Brigade artillery officer, has said he is not a conscientious objector. He has said he would fight in Afghanistan but not in Iraq.

Peace activists, international law experts and war resisters past and present are preparing to rally outside Fort Lewis on Watada's behalf on court days.

A news conference Wednesday at First Congregational Church in Tacoma to drum up support before today's hearing featured Watada's father, clergy and Japanese American war resisters.

The Evergeen State College Tacoma campus, meanwhile, plans a "Citizens Hearing on the Legality of U.S. Actions in Iraq" for Jan. 20-21, aimed at supporting Watada by putting the war on trial.

The event, for which the non-profit Church Council of Greater Seattle is gathering donations, features a panel comprising a cross section of the community to listen to arguments about the war's legality and whether soldiers have an obligation to refuse unlawful orders.

Those who organizers say have committed to testify include Daniel Ellsberg, a former military analyst who released the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War; Denis Halliday, a former United Nations assistant secretary-general who coordinated Iraq humanitarian aid; Nadia McCaffrey of Gold Star Families Speak Out; Harvey Tharp, a former Navy lieutenant and military lawyer in Iraq; Antonia Juhasz, author and analyst of U.S. economic policies in Iraq; and Eman Khammas (by video), an Iraqi human rights advocate.