So what do you think will happen with this guy?

[KaiineTN]

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/ ... /1001/NEWS

It's sad when I think about it, I'm pretty sure that even though I see it to be wrong, they will make an example out of him in order to keep thousands of others from following in his footsteps.

[Lueyen]

It's hard to say, a lot of it depends upon exactly what type of court martial he faces. He will likely spend some time in prison, and more likely then not will appeal to a civilian court.

[Harrison]

I hope he gets everything possible thrown at him.

[Lyion]

It doesn't make me sad, it angers me, as a vet.

You join the military and break the UCMJ, you pay the consequences.

He should get four years in Ft Leavenworth, reduction in rank to private, and a dishonorable discharge after serving his time.

[Ginzburgh]

It doesn't make me sad, it angers me, as a vet.

I didn't know you were a vet. What war did you fight in?

[kinghooter00]

Its about time you see a guy such as himself stand up for what he believes to be wrong in the army. He is gonna get burned big time though, thats for sure.

[Zanchief]

He's right, but he shouldn't have joined if he felt like that.

Seems kinda silly but oh well.

[Lyion]

It doesn't make me sad, it angers me, as a vet.

I didn't know you were a vet. What war did you fight in?

I was in the first gulf war. I spent 6 years as an Aircrew Crypto Tech linguist for the Navy. This included over 2 years in the Persian Gulf.

[Ginzburgh]

That is something I did not know about you.

In my opinion, if you sign the contract, you hold up your end of the bargain.

People can't use the excuse that "I was young and stupid when I signed up, now I know better". Well I was young and stupid when I spent $10,000 on a credit card in college but that doesn't mean I had to stop paying".

$1,300 left btw.

[Jay]

He deserves every bit of punishment he gets. He should have done his duty and saved his disobedience for an illegal order. If this is civil disobedience, part of that is quietly accepting the consequences and accepting your punishment.

[Tikker]

He deserves every bit of punishment he gets. He should have done his duty and saved his disobedience for an illegal order. If this is civil disobedience, part of that is quietly accepting the consequences and accepting your punishment.

Yup, I pretty much agree with that

[Vinnie.1]

Did you know that when he enlisted that his contract with the government stated that he would not be sent to Iraq...He had that put in and it was very specific...Contracts with the Services are just as binding as private contract...
The government chose to breach that contract...

Vinnie.1

[Lyion]

Did you know that when he enlisted that his contract with the government stated that he would not be sent to Iraq...He had that put in and it was very specific...Contracts with the Services are just as binding as private contract...
The government chose to breach that contract...

He didn't enlist, Vinnie. He was a commissioned officer. This is complete bullshit, also.

[Vinnie.1]

True...And he enlisted on his own...Trusting our government to keep their word...Do you see a pattern?...

Vinnie.1

[Vinnie.1]

Yes he was a commissioned officer...But he enlisted initially...Each time you re-up you sign a new contract...

Vinnie.1

[Lyion]

No, there is a vast difference between enlisting and being commissioned. You can't 'enlist' to be an officer. He does not have a contract preventing him from going to Iraq. Those are legal and binding in court.

It was his decision to become an Officer. It was his decision to dishonor himself, and I hope he gets the appropriate punishment. He deserves to be demoted to private and sent to Ft Leavenworth for the next four years. I'm pretty sure he will, especially now that the Prosecution is going to add in the charges they dropped for him before when they were trying to allow him an easy out.

[Vinnie.1]

Then you better watch the news again...The current update says he is objecting to his contract...

Vinnie.1

[Lyion]

Feel free to show me a verifiable news source.

Pretty much every source say his Objections are that he believes the Iraq War is illegal and his order to move with his troops is not.

Interestingly enough, his attorney appears to be a complete moron.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2857628

FORT LEWIS, Wash. Feb 8, 2007 (AP)— A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in the court-martial of an Army lieutenant who refused to deploy to Iraq, saying the soldier did not fully understand a document he signed in which he admitted to elements of the charges.

Prosecutors said 1st Lt. Ehren Watada admitted in the document that he had a duty to go to Iraq with his fellow soldiers.

But Watada, under questioning with the military jury absent, said he had intended to admit only that he had not gone to Iraq, not that he was duty-bound to deploy to Iraq with his unit.

Military judge Lt. Col. John Head set a March 19 date for a new trial and dismissed the jurors. Watada's lawyer objected to the mistrial and said a second one would amount to double jeopardy more than one prosecution for the same alleged crime.

Watada, 28, of Honolulu, had been expected to testify in his own defense Wednesday.

He is the first commissioned officer to be court-martialed for refusing to go to Iraq, said Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice in Washington, D.C.

In the 12-page stipulation of fact he signed last month, Watada acknowledged that he refused to deploy last June with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and that he made public statements criticizing the Iraq war. Watada has said he refused to go to Iraq because he believes the war is illegal.

In exchange, prosecutors dropped two charges of conduct unbecoming an officer against him. He remains charged with missing movement for his refusal to deploy and two other allegations of conduct unbecoming an officer for comments made about the case. He could receive four years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if convicted.

When the disagreement over Watada's admission surfaced, the judge indicated he was unsure whether he could accept the document. Since much of the Army's evidence was laid out in it, prosecutors requested the mistrial. Watada's attorney, Eric Seitz, opposed the request.

After the mistrial was declared, Seitz said he didn't think his client could be tried again because it would be the equivalent of double jeopardy. Should the Army proceed with a second trial, Seitz said he would seek dismissal of the charges with prejudice so they could not be refiled.

If that request is not granted, he will appeal, he said.

"Our hope is, at this point, that the Army will realize that this case is a hopeless mess," Seitz said.

Lt. Col. Robert Resnick of the Judge Advocate General's office at Fort Lewis said double jeopardy does not apply.

In their opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors said Watada abandoned his soldiers and brought disgrace upon himself and the service by accusing the Army of war crimes and denouncing the Bush administration.

Seitz countered that Watada acted in good conscience, based on his own convictions.

[Vinnie.1]

My apologies to all...I misqouted and misunderstood the talking heads on the news forum I was listening too...I stand corrected...

Vinnie.1