| Page 2 of 3 < > |
A Mother Fights for a Soldier Who Said No to War
Carolyn Ho, Phoebe Jones and others lobbying in support of Ho's son, an officer who refused to go to Iraq.
(By Robert A. Reeder -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Because the United States entered the war based on false premises, Ho said, the war is illegal. It is thus her son's constitutional duty to disobey orders.
So she asked that members of Congress get involved. She said that ideally she would prefer that the military accept her son's resignation and dismiss all charges against him. "He shouldn't be in a military prison," she said. His voice "will be totally squelched."
She asked, "Just who is the criminal here? The one who is refusing to participate in war crimes?"
From the Army's standpoint, the case is simple. Tens of thousands of soldiers have passed through Fort Lewis on their way to the war and have not asked for special treatment, said Army spokesman Joe Piek. Watada, 28, signed on for military service in 2003 with full knowledge that he might have to fight an unpopular war, Piek said. "This is a case about a soldier who refused orders to deploy to Iraq. . . . That is the bottom line."
Watada has been charged with one count of "missing movement," which means he did not board one of the planes that were taking his 3rd Brigade to Kuwait on June 22. In Kuwait the brigade's 4,000 soldiers received their equipment and their marching orders.
He also is charged with "conduct unbecoming an officer," for subsequent statements he made. For now he is assigned to a special troops battalion and has been doing everyday soldierly duties while awaiting his court appearance.
Piek said, "He joined the Army and swore an oath, and that includes following the orders of the officers appointed over him. His unit was placed in a stop-loss category, which meant that everybody currently in that unit would deploy. You don't get to pick and choose, especially if you are a junior officer, which places you get to go to."
To Watada's attorney, Eric Seitz, the situation is more complicated. "The United States talks out of both sides of its mouth," he said. "We've prosecuted soldiers in other countries for following orders to commit war crimes. But God forbid you should use that refusal as a defense in this country."
The Watada defense: Questioning the war publicly is not "conduct unbecoming" but an exercise of freedom of speech. And he had the right to miss movement because he was refusing to participate in what he deems an illicit enterprise.
To Carolyn Ho, congressional staffers were polite and receptive. She came at an inopportune time, she was told several times. Congress had adjourned for the holidays and there was not much time before the court-martial.
There were flashes of hope: Along the way, someone suggested that a "sign-on letter" sent by members of Congress to the secretary of the Army might be a way to galvanize support for Watada. Or a "dear colleague" letter that would alert others in Congress to Watada's situation. One staffer brought up the idea of a "private resolution," an arcane move in which Congress passes a bill that affects one person. "Those are possibilities," Ho said. But as the day wore on, fatigue showed on her face.
