Word: watada
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...highly anticipated court-martial of Army Lieutenant Ehren Watada for refusing to deploy to Iraq ended in a mistrial on Wednesday, a surprising development that left military prosecutors clearly frustrated, observers stunned and defense attorneys claiming that the military had blown its only chance at a conviction...
...hope is that at this point the Army will realize that this case is a hopeless mess," said Eric Seitz, Watada's attorney, speaking at a press conference shortly after the mistrial was declared...
...Watada, based at Fort Lewis, just south of Seattle, said he refused to go to war with his unit last June because he had come to the conclusion that the war in Iraq is illegal. In conversations with his superiors, in media interviews and at the court-martial this week he contended that his Army oath required him not to follow what he called an "illegal order" to deploy...
...legality at the court-martial. The military judge, Lieut. Col. John Head, sided with the prosecutors, ruling that questions about the war's legality were beyond his court's jurisdiction. But barring arguments about the war's legality created a disconnect that ultimately caused the military's case against Watada to unravel...
...relative paucity of support for Watada may stem from the fact that Watada willingly enlisted in the Army after Sept. 11, 2001, and as recently as the summer of 2005 had been willing to go to Iraq. He changed his mind, he said, when he learned more about the war. When asked why he is now refusing a job he essentially signed up for, Watada reframes the question, arguing that the job of a soldier includes refusing orders when he believes they are illegal. "I signed up to defend our country. The war in Iraq is hurting our country. Those...