Lt. Ehren Watada Court Martial Draws protest and celebrity power..

[rsmith6621]

FORT LEWIS, Wash. (AP) - The court-martial for an Army officer who refused to go to Iraq got off to a slow start Monday as his lawyer challenged the legal proceedings against the soldier.

Proceedings Monday morning for 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, 28, of Honolulu, at this Army base south of Tacoma were taken up by attorney's motions, with the military judge, Lt. Col. John Head, refusing to allow almost all defense witnesses to take the stand. Head had previously ruled that Watada's Honolulu attorney, Eric Seitz, would not have the chance to debate the legality of the Iraq war in court.

Outside the base, a small group that included actor Sean Penn demonstrated peacefully in support of Watada. A few others demonstrated against him, including one man who carried a sign calling Watada a "weasel" for disobeying an order.

http://www.komotv.com/news/5562756.html




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So Jeez.....I wonder if Cindy Shehan will make an appearence?????

[brentblack]

1. My sympathies for enlisted men....

....does not extend to the officers. Young men and women enlist in the military with little or no knowledge of what they are getting into - on the other hand, officers are presented with all the information of their job. There is a big difference to me (may be the only one here) in the two.


I know this is not a popular sentiment, but when you sign up to play in the whirlwind - you cannot get mad when the hurricane sucks you in (sorry for the crappy metaphor). Regardless of the current situation - there will always be a politician that will send young men and women into harm's way. No different than when my old man was sent to 'Nam. All war is built on lies....


And...yes...I did serve. And yes....it sucked almost everyday. Only good thing is that I have good friends for the remainder of my life. Gotta count for something.