This man, Ehren Watada, is a coward (News-Times, Jan. 17). My son is currently in Army boot camp and if I’m being honest it scares me to death knowing what could be in store for him in the near future.
I am a 22-year Navy veteran, I also spent a year in Iraq conducting ammunition disposal from Baghdad to Kuwait. So I know the perils of being on the ground in very hostile territory. I don’t always agree with the president but I always did what was asked of me. I never faulted anyone for not joining the military or who got out after they completed their tour of duty that they signed up for. My problem comes with the oath that Watada took, an oath that so many continue to take to heart.
“I … do solemnly swear (or affirm) that 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. So help me God.”
“I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me.” Did he just lip sync that part? Or maybe he crossed his fingers so it doesn’t count; he says I swear no loyalty to the commander-in-chief, but to the Constitution.
Just because you don’t like this war doesn’t mean you get to pick the other one. You should understand exactly what that oath means. And the rhetoric Watada uses smacks of liberal talk. Officers cannot be allowed to act like this. If he felt this strongly, then he could have applied as a conscientious objector. How is anything that Bush has done been “illegal?” His charge against the president is, as far as I’m concerned, treasonous. The amount of harm this will do to the country by a man who is suppose to lead its bravest into battle is disgraceful.
His job is to complete the mission, ensure the safety of his men, and obey his commanders. That is how it has to work. If Watada has such a problem with this war, he shouldn’t have joined the military.
There is a way to do things, and a way not to. Watada has chosen to embarrass the president, accuse him of crimes that would send a normal man to the chair, and give al Qaeda one more quote to recruit more murderers. It is not Americans killing people in Iraq, it is the Islamic terrorist fanatics that are doing that. Watada has just given them another bullet in the chamber. And while Watada may think his conscience is clear, I wonder if he will be as concerned for the civilians who will be killed by men inspired to hate America by his words.
He’s a coward, a damned coward.
Chris Gomes
Oak Harbor
