Veterans For Peace applauds First Lieutenant Watada’s courage to follow his convictions and refuse deployment to Iraq.

Veterans For Peace Executive Director Michael McPhearson states, “The Bush administration continues to put our nation’s service members in harms way for no good reason. Today our troops face the long shadows of Abu Ghraib and now Haditha...

"I understand that many of our troops believe the U.S. occupation to be just and must follow their conscience. Other soldiers, while they do not believe in the war, feel obligated to follow the orders of their leaders or fear the consequences of resisting. However, more and more men and women are coming to the realization that they have the right to follow their conscience to resist this immoral war and are willing to face whatever consequences lay ahead. As a leader and officer, 1LT Watada has an obligation to steward the physical, mental and moral health of his troops. I imagine it has become clear to the LT that his duty to them can not be served by leading them in an endeavor based on deceit and half truths. Veterans For Peace supports the courage of this young man and other service members like him.”

For more information about 1LT Watada, please visit www.thankyoult.org . For more information about VFP, please visit www.veteransforpeace.org .

Veterans For Peace is a national organization founded in 1985. It is structured around a national office in Saint Louis, MO and comprised of members across the country organized in chapters or as at-large members. The organization includes men and women veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, other conflicts and peacetime veterans. Our collective experience tells us wars are easy to start and hard to stop and that those hurt are often the innocent. Thus, other means of problem solving are necessary.

June 7, 2006