My letter about Ehren–intro by Shannon

Aloha friends,
 
It is hard to believe, but the military still wants to prosecute Lt. Ehren Watada for refusing to deploy to Iraq because he knows that to do so would violate his oath to defend the Constitution from enemies foreign as well as DOMESTIC.  In his trial in 2007, the army’s own witnesses testified favorably for Ehren, so the army prosecutors moved for a mistrial, which was granted.  In an attempt to prosecute Ehren for a second time, a new judge declared that to try Ehren a second time would be double jeopardy.  The army is now appealing that judgment to the Department of Justice.  The Solicitor General, Elena Kagan will decide the appeal.  Also, the army wants to prosecute Ehren for speaking out about why he refused to deploy to Iraq making freedom of speech for military officers a crime.
 
Below is a letter to Ms. Kagan from Barbara Moore, a friend, asking her to please do the right thing and deny that appeal.  Ehren was supposed to be out of the army in 2006, he has been held three years past his enlistment a virtual prisoner with no route for him to take to be discharged.
 
I want to ask you to help in a effort to bring justice for Ehren, he has “served” his time and should be allowed to go on with his life not prosecuted for refusing to validate an illegal and immoral war and commit war crimes.  Using the AskDOJ@usdoj.gov email address for Solicitor General, Elena Kagan, please send a note in support of Ehren for his release from the charges and from captivity.
 
Mahalo,
Shannon  
 
   
—– Original Message —–
From: Barbara Moore <mailto:dfly@dragonflyranch.com>  
To: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 11:31 PM
Subject: Re: Lt. Ehren Watada

Aloha Solicitor General, Elena Kagan,

I understand that you are in a key position at the  Justice Department to recommend that the army drop its appeal of the mistrial  and resulting double jeopardy judgment in favor of freeing Lt. Ehren Watada. I  am impressed that you are a woman because I feel I can speak to you honestly  from my heart and you will hear me. I am writing to beg you to use your  authority to dismiss the immoral prosecution of this honorable  lieutenant.

I am proud to say that Ehren is a personal friend of mine.  I don’t  know if you are aware of the fact that his name, Ehren, means  ”honorable.”  Honorable describes Ehren Watada precisely. After  discovering the facts and realizing that the Iraq war was (and still is)  unconstitutional, Ehren courageously spoke the truth and defended his precious  Constitution. This was not an easy stand and it has already cost him huge  legal expenses, death threats, and humiliation, as well as emotional and  physical stress for not only him but for his supportive and loving family-not  to mention wasting three precious years of his young life.

Ehren will  go down in history books as a hero, being the first officer in the United  States Army who used his intelligence, had the courage of his convictions,  listened to and then acted upon his conscience to say NO to this grotesque  war. He obeyed his oath to defend the constitution-performing that oath  precisely as he agreed to do, while humbly alerting others. (Have you seen his  moving and eloquent 2006 speech in Seattle? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj0hI4OyF3A)  Questioning this man’s honor is obvioualy inappropriate. Forcing him to face  prosecution again or even requiring another day of “service” would be  unconscionable.

Ehren once said:

When you are   looking your children in the eye in the future, or when you are at the  end of  your life, you want to look back on your life and know that at a  very  important moment, when I had the opportunity to make the right  decisions, I  did so, even knowing there were negative  consequences.

As I am  sure you know, according to international law, those who follow immoral and  illegal orders, like the Nazis who murdered the Jews, are responsible for  their actions and should be punished. At a price of well over a million Iraqi  lives, an immense number of American lives of soldiers who have died or who  are destined to a life of living hell with debilitating DU in their systems  and horrible memories in their psyches, along with over a trillion dollars of  tax payers money, we all now know that this war has been a tremendous  FIASCO. Ehren investigated and knew it before others were willing to admit it.  No one questions anymore that this war was and still is, a mistake. So why  would we not honor a man for recognizing the wrongness of this immoral and  illegal war, refusing to mindlessly take orders in violation of our War  Power Act of the Constitution as well as the UN Charter, the  Geneva Convention and the Nuremberg Principles?

I humbly   beseech you, as a woman with a very intelligent and well educated brain,  a kind heart (judging by your looks), and a refined sense of  conscience–please make the right decision by encouraging the release of this  noble man, Lt. Ehren Watada–with an HONORABLE discharge. It is the  just thing for a person in your position in the Justice Department to  do. I realize that such a decision will take courage on your part. I  appreciate the unique position you are in and sincerely pray that you have the  moral fiber it takes to deliberate carefully and make this judgment  correctly.

Respectably yours,

Barbara Moore
Honaunau, HI   96726

PS After you tell the army that this man deserves an  honorable discharge immediately, please come to the Dragonfly Ranch for  R&R!

–

“In the Sweetness of Friendship,
let there be Laughter
and the Sharing of Pleasures ”
Khalil Gibran
Barbara Ann Kenonilani Moore
President of Hawaii Island Wellness Travel Association (HIWTA.org)
soul proprietor of Dragonfly Ranch: HEALING ARTS CENTER
Voted #1 B&B in West Hawaii by readers of West Hawaii Today daily paper
(808)328-2159
http://dragonflyranch.com
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