Refuse to be a war criminal

Next Monday, the court-martial of First Lieutenant Ehren Watada is set to commence at Fort Lewis near Seattle. (The Baltimore Sun: Truth has consequences for soldier of conscience) 1st Lt. Watada is a hero for refusing to follow War-Criminal-in-Chief George W. Bush's order to commit the crime of aggression, crimes against peace, to commit war crimes and to be an accessory to genocide and crimes against humanity. He is the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq.

Finally, nearly four years after the invasion, the U.S. Army produces a hero! Because of his heroic conduct, Officer Watada is being court-martialed. He should receive the Purple Hart for exemplary conduct, standing up to his war criminal commander and refusing to become a war criminal.

Officer Watada is also accused of the “use of contemptuous words for the president”, at a time when a majority in the U.S. Congress is publicly uttering “contemptuous words for the president”.

American soldiers 'serving' or having 'served' in Iraq are all war criminals, guilty of the crime of aggression. It is they who should be court-martialed. They have the blood of innocent Iraqi civilians on their hands. Or the blood of Iraqi resistance fighters, who have every right, according to international law and the U.N. Charter, to defend their homeland against the American imperial stormtroopers.

Most of those soldiers are ignorant, stupid, bumpkins who learned in primary school to follow the Commander-in-Chief and never learned to use their brains. It is not their fault. The American Empire never taught them to think independently. But if they want to receive clemency, they should help bring Bush to justice. The world is waiting for the court-martial of George W. Bush!

As the story in the Baltimore Sun points out, war is only legal if authorized by the U.N. Security Council or in self-defense. The U.N. Security Council didn't authorize the invasion of Iraq, nor did Saddam's Iraq ever attacked the United States.

Lieutenant Watada believes no soldier should give a life, or take a life, for a lie. Every soldier has the duty to disobey illegal orders or refuse to violate the Geneva Conventions. It is those who obey who are breaking the law. May this soldier of conscience win his heroic battle.