Community Braces for More Heated Debate as Watada Court Martial Begins
The JA officer faces up to four years in prison for his decision to refuse deployment to Iraq last summer.
In less than three days, 1st Lt. Ehren Watada will finally come face to face with the stark realities of his decision to refuse to deploy to Iraq last summer as his court martial begins Feb. 5 at Fort Lewis.
Although a personal decision, Watada's actions sparked heated debate within the Japanese American community. Now just days before the start of his court martial - where Watada faces two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer and one count of missing troop movement - the controversy continues to generate impassioned emotions.
Recent letters to the editor here at the Pacific Citizen show the starkly opposing sides within the community.
"Watada is not a coward. He is taking a stand against involvement in a misled and preemptive aggression," writes James Tanabe of Honolulu, a staunch supporter of the 28-year-old officer. "This is about Watada's individual act of conscience ... On this individual and human level we who support him can better identify with and respect his act as a deeply personal and honorable one."
But Lee Sakata of Arizona echoes similar sentiments of those who oppose Watada's decision: "Lieutenant Watada had a chance to oppose President Bush and the war in Iraq simply by not entering the Army after the war had started. Why did he enlist in the Army if he was against the war in Iraq? There is no draft, only a volunteer Armed Forces. Did he really think he would not be deployed?"
Soon after the lieutenant's announcement last June, community members began to ask, what is JACL's position on the Watada matter, the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment?
In response, former JACL Executive Director John Tateishi last July released a statement of concern over some of the charges Watada faces. Still, some in the organization continued to urge a stronger statement of support.
But last November the national JACL board took up the issue for a second and final time, voting to stick to their statement of concern.
"Do I believe the national board's course was the right one? Yes, because of who we are and what we say we are, there was no other course for us. As an educational 501(c)3, it is not within our mission to involve ourselves in political matters," said Larry Oda, national JACL president. "We all realize that not everyone will be happy with what the board decides and perhaps those that disagree may be more vocal than our supporters."
"At the time the national board made its initial decision and reaffirmation, I felt that they made the correct decision," said Floyd Mori, JACL interim executive director. "There was political danger of losing a battle on a different level by taking a political position that would clearly divide the organization. I also felt that it was important to respect the opinion of a large number of our World War II veterans who are in large part responsible for the credibility that JACL has today."
But some national JACL board members continue to question the national organization's hesitancy in taking a stronger stand on the issue.
"I think that [Watada] is a principled young man who has thought hard about what he is doing," said Hiro Nishikawa, EDC governor, who voted to give stronger support to Watada at the November board meeting. "He is not trying to avoid harm per se, but is against U.S. policies in Iraq. He is aware of his consequences in the pending court martial."
And in fact some individual JACL chapters have given their full support to Watada including the Honolulu, Berkeley, and Watsonville-Santa Cruz chapters. The NCWNP district also passed a resolution in support of Watada's free speech rights.
Over the past several months many of the JA veterans groups have come out in strong opposition to Watada and his actions, including the Japanese American Korean War Veterans.
"We have said that this is a military matter and is not a question of the legality of the war. It is not a civil rights issue either," said Bob Wada, a Korean War veteran, who spoke on his behalf and not for any organization. "A serviceman or woman does not have the right to pick and choose his or her assignment and for [Watada] to refuse to go to Iraq with his unit was absolutely wrong.
"We are not interested in continuing this controversy," he added. "The Japanese American veterans have expressed their displeasure with his actions and don't have any new different thoughts ... We will let the court martial decide his fate and accept their decision."
David Masuo, a Vietnam War vet, echoed Wada's sentiments. "Lieutenant Watada was wrong in his decision to disobey an order of troop movement to Iraq and wrong in his statements to the press and in meetings about the Commander in Chief's decision regarding the war," he said. "Military personnel do not have the luxury of deciding which war they want to participate in."
But not all veterans groups are opposed to Watada. The Asian American Vietnam Veterans Organization (AAVVO) have been behind the lieutenant from the beginning and plan to march in his support on Feb. 3 in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo.
"For any serviceperson to be punished for taking a stand against the war is just wrong," said Mike Nakayama of AAVVO. "We must support the many men and women in uniform who are resisting and do all we can to help end this unjust war."
The AAVVO will be joined by Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress (NCRR) at the upcoming Los Angeles' march, a group that has also been vocal Watada supporters.
"NCRR supports Lt. Ehren Watada because we took the position before the invasion of Iraq that a preemptive strike was wrong. We agree with his view that the current war is illegal and admire the courage that it took to take that stand publicly knowing the consequences," said Kathy Masaoka. "He expresses the sentiment of a great many people in this country and we are proud that he is speaking out."
Watada has long held that his decision to refuse to deploy to Iraq came after much research and resulted in his belief that the war is illegal and immoral. Although he refused to fight in Iraq, he offered to serve in other areas of the world including Afghanistan but his offer was rejected.
In a Jan. 16 pretrial hearing, a military judge ruled that Watada cannot justify his refusal to deploy to Iraq by questioning the legality of the Iraqi War, a severe blow to the officer's defense case. The judge also rejected the notion that Watada's free speech rights were violated.
In a few days Watada will learn if his much publicized decision to refuse deployment to Iraq will result in up to four years of jail time.
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