Court Martial Declared a Mistrial

The judge presiding over the court martial of Army 1^st Lieutenant Ehren Watada, who refused to deploy with his battalion to Iraq, has declared a mistrial Wednesday. The judge stated the soldier did not completely comprehend a document he had signed admitting to the fundamentals of the charges.

Military judge Lieutenant Colonel John Head declared the decision after Watada testified that he never intended to admit he had an obligation to serve in Iraq with his battalion. One of the charges involved missing troop movement. The date of his new court martial is set for March 12.

Prior to the trial, which began on Monday, Watada acknowledged in a stipulation that he missed movement. Watada was supposed to deploy to Iraq with the 3^rd Brigade, 2^nd Infantry Division in June of 2006. Watada refused to deploy because he believed the war was wrong. Watada is also charged with conduct unbecoming of an officer, when he accused the Army of war crimes and made statements against the Bush administration for conducting an "illegal war" based on "lies."

Watada's attorney had wanted to instruct the jury that his client's intentions were not to miss movement, but instead to avoid making Watada an accomplice to war crimes. The only way Watada believed he could avoid this was by refusing to deploy.

An Army prosecutor stated Watada had chosen to abandon his troops. By abandoning his troops, Watada brought disgrace upon himself and the service when he chose to stay behind. Captain Scott Van Sweringen informed the court that Watada "sat comfortably in his office while his soldiers departed for Iraq...they departed on the flight absent the leader they had trained with."

Watada's attorney, Eric Seitz, stated Watada was only acting in good faith. Watada made his decision based upon his personal beliefs and understanding of the parameters of the war. Seitz stated, "Watada took his oath to defend the Constitution and not to Bush and his policies..."

Watada's battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Antonia, was called to testify for the prosecution. During his testimony, Antonia said he had learned of Watada's concerns in January of 2006. Antonia said he advised Watada to refrain from making any public statements. Watada did just the opposite when he went public with his decision to the local media. Antonia said "I was dismayed, probably a little bit betrayed. I believe what he said was that the commander in chief made decisions based on lies, that the specifically deceived the American people. That is nowhere in the realm of a lieutenant in the United States Army."

Seitz argued that Watada had tried to quietly leave the Army, after he determined the war was wrong and he was acting on his conscience. Seitz also argued that it was only after Watada was notified that he would be deploying, regardless of the circumstances, that he went public with his decision.

Watada is the only United States officer who has been court-martialed for saying no to a deployment in Iraq. Watada had joined the Army in March 2003. In the event Watada is convicted, he could face four years in prison and receive a dishonorable discharge.

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