Watada Judge Bars Statements on Legality of Iraq War
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
FORT LEWIS, Wash. — The judge in the case against the first American officer court-martialed for refusing to ship out for Iraq barred several experts in international and constitutional law from testifying yesterday about the legality of the war.
First Lieutenant Ehren Watada, 28, of Honolulu is charged with missing movement for refusing to ship out with his unit, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. He is also faces charges of conduct unbecoming an officer for accusing the Army of war crimes and denouncing the administration for conducting an “illegal war” founded on “lies.”
As his court-martial got under way, the military judge, Lieutenant Colonel John Head, refused to allow almost all defense witnesses to take the stand. Head previously ruled that Lieutenant Watada’s attorney, Eric Seitz, could not debate the legality of the Iraq war in court.
If convicted, Lieutenant Watada could receive four years in prison and a dishonorable discharge. He has requested that a military panel of officers, the equivalent of a jury, hear his case. It had not yet been selected by midday.
Outside the base, a small group that included actor Sean Penn demonstrated in support of Lieutenant Watada. A few others demonstrated against him, including one man who carried a sign calling Lieutenant Watada a “weasel.”
