Midn 3/C Smith
Section 5005
21 November 2008
Speaking Out Against Injustice
In June 2006 First Lieutenant Ehren Watada, USA, became the first U.S.
military officer to refuse deployment to Iraq. Born in 1978 to the parents of Ben
Watada and Carolyn Ho, Lieutenant Watada was brought up and raised in
Honolulu Hawaii.1 Upon graduation from the Hawaii Pacific University in 2003,
Ehren Watada left to attend Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia.
He received his commission in the United States Army in November 2003 and
was sent to South Korea to be stationed with the 2nd Artillery Division. After a
year, Lieutenant Watada was re-stationed at Fort Lewis Washington where he
quickly learned that he was soon to be deployed to Iraq along with the rest of his
unit. Upon arriving back in the United States, Lieutenant Watada began
researching the on going war in Iraq realizing that if he was headed there he
must be well educated on the situation.2 Through the in depth studying of how
the war was being handled, Lieutenant Watada came to the conclusion that the
war in Iraq is not only unjust but also morally wrong. Reaching his decision to
refuse deployment, in January Lieutenant Watada attempted to resign his
commission and told his commander, “I won’t follow this order and I won’t
participate in something I believe is wrong.”3 Since his statement, Lieutenant
Watada was court-martialed on multiple accounts and is still facing trial on
charges unbecoming of an officer.
1 About Lt. Ehren Watada, http://www.thankyoult.org/content/view/1069/80/.
2 Sarah Olson, “Truthout,” http://www.truthout.org/article/sarah-olson-lieutenant-watada-refused-iraq-
deployment-orders-today.
3 Sarah Olson, “Truthout” http://www.truthout.org/article/sarah-olson-lieutenant-watada-refused-iraq-
deployment-orders-today.
Lieutenant Watada’s refusal of deployment to Iraq on believing that the
war is immoral clearly raises an ethical dilemma. It is not Lieutenant Watada’s
decision however that presents this dilemma, instead it is his reasoning and
approach to how he ended up at his final decision. The true ethical matter at
hand is whether or not Lieutenant Watada took the necessary and proper actions
to arrive at the conclusion of refusing to go to Iraq, and also if these actions are
justifiable.
Lieutenant Watada was able to make a sound decision based on in depth
Along with research and clear moral reasoning through the use of
Constitutional Ethics, Lieutenant Watada’s decision to refuse deployment to fight
the war in Iraq is justified.
