Why First Lt. Ehren Watada is Wrong: The Army Doesn't Offer War À La Carte

There is something that a lot of people do not understand: in the military, you don't have a lot of options as far as assignments. If the group (or ship, or whatever) you are attached to goes to war, you go with it. That's it, end of story. Most people simply finish the enlistment period and get out. But there is another option they can take: he or she can file as a conscientious objector. He or she must be against all wars, in any form. Which means they must oppose force if we are under attack, or if we defend someone else, or if we're invading somewhere because they have something we want. It doesn't matter. The servicemember must believe that war is a terrible thing, and can object on either moral or religious grounds.

If the military reviews the case and finds the member firmly opposed to warfare, they can grant a discharge or a transfer to a non-combative status. The process isn't perfect, and obviously not everyone who files for it will be approved. But approximately 172,000 men were relieved of duty for Vietnam, so it can happen. As of right now, a little over 100 or so current servicemembers have been granted that same right. There's no statistics as to how many people have filed, because the DoD doesn't keep the applications long enough to tally them. There's no way to know if people just aren't filing for this entitlement, or if the government doesn't believe them.

1st Lt. Ehren Watada, an infantry officer who refused to go with his unit to Iraq, is not a conscientious objector. He offered to go to Afghanistan and they turned down his request. Watada simply doesn't agree with the war in Iraq and doesn't want to go. Fine and dandy for him, but it's too bad. This is a man who signed up in March of 2003--right at the beginning of the war. It's not as if this conflict caught him off guard. He knew what he was doing when he signed up. He freely admits that he agreed with invading Iraq at that time but was misled by lies perpetrated by his own government. Now that he sees clearly and can think for himself, he put in for his resignation. That's not how things work in the Army. His resignation was denied.

He will be charged with missing troop movement and several counts of conduct unbecoming an officer at his court-martial set for sometime in February. Watada's lawyers are going to argue that he isn't breaking the law; this country and our President are. Their defense is that the war in Iraq is in violation of the United Nations Charter, and therefore, illegal. They don't really have that right. Only Congress can decide that. So it won't be the war on trial in that courtroom. It will be Watada, and that's all. They really don't have any other course, though, as this is a man who, two years ago, specifically requested orders to Iraq. They have their work cut out for them.

I was in the military, and my husband still is. We know people who have served one, and sometimes two, tours in Iraq. My husband will probably be on the list sooner or later. Not everyone I know wanted to go. I don't blame them. Not all of them believed that going to war with Iraq was the best thing that we could have done. I understand that. However, they all believed that they swore an oath and signed a contract . They are obligated to their government, their country, and their fellow servicemembers to go. And they are right. That is the absolute truth. Nobody forces anybody to enlist; nobody in this country was drafted and forced to fight against their will.

That contract waives a lot of the rights people in this country count on as civilians. One of them is the ability to publicly denounce our President, our country, or its policies. This is something that Watada, the first commissioned officer to publicly denounce the war and refuse lawful orders, seems to have forgotten. It was in the oath he swore upon his enlistment: "I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice." Notice it doesn't say "I will obey only the orders of the President I agree with," or "I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against those enemies as I see fit."

I have no problem with people excising their right to free speech, to think for themselves, or to decide what is right or wrong on their own. However, when you are in the military, it's not about you. It is about all the people you stand for. If you don't believe in war, fine. But then either don't join the Army-because, lets face it, what else is the Army for, really?-or file as an objector and stand by that. Don't change sides when it's in your best interests to do so. By all means, I would have respected Watada if he chose to claim CO status. He has every right to. He chose not to do that. He signed up, all gung-ho about fighting in Iraq, right up until September of 2005. And then he changed his mind. He claims that he decided, as he learned more and more about the President's justifications for the war, and saw what the war was doing to his fellow soldiers, he could not go through with it. But what kind of example does that send to his men? That his life is more important than theirs (they all went back in June, he has remained on post)? That because he's an officer, he gets to stay behind and argue, while they have to fight simply because they have the integrity to meet their obligations?

I know that the numbers of dead and injured soldiers is mounting. I know that many of the ones who come back are changed forever, even if their wounds are not physical. I'd be scared of going to war, too. And I would never, ever, fault someone for that. However, there is a policy in place to him to make his stand, and he wants to get around that. He is, actually, asking for special treatment. That is something you just don't get in the military. I think Watada picked the wrong profession.

Here is the bottom line: you cannot claim that you do not like certain things about your job, then say that you're not going to do them anymore. Most places, that will get you fired. In the Army, it gets you a court-martial and possibly 6 years in prison.