That Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada is standing up for the oath he took is a soldier to defend his country and its constitution against enemies, both foreign and domestic, is a lesson for everyone serving in the U.S. military. Watada knows that Iraqis are not a threat to the security of the United States.

Watada knows that the current cadre of people in the U.S.government who are waging an illegal occupation in Iraq are war criminals and violating international law on a daily basis-and these people arethe true threat to the U.S. and our constitution.

First Lieutenant Watada is refusing to deploy to Iraq, and will not be a part of the daily slaughter that typifies daily life there. While hisactions safeguard his life, they also will prevent the killing ofcountless Iraqis. Watada will never have to worry about living the rest of his life knowing that he killed people in Iraq, nor will he have to worryabout one day being tried in an international court for war crimes.

 

Watada understands that, even in the Army Field Manual, it is clear foreveryone to see that actions taken by the U.S. military in Iraq like destroying nearly the entire city of Fallujah, the current assault on thecity of Ramadi (400,000 people) and the sieges in Al-Qa'im, Samarra andNajaf are grave violations of international law.

At the end of the day, while Watada faces a struggle now at home while taking a stand against a military that is being ordered (illegally) tooccupy Iraq for an indefinate period of time, after seeing the horrors ofthe occupation myself, he will be able to sleep soundly at night, untormented by the knowledge that he participated in a slaughter, orassisting in a military operation that has orphaned children, or executedthe elderly in their homes as they sought refuge.

Only when more courageous soldiers follow the honorable example of First Lieutenant Ehren Watada, will the possibility of the horrible, despicableoccupation of Iraq coming to an end become a reality.