Hell No, I Won't Go

O Sinnerman

National Call to Action - Lt Watada

Show your Support for Lt. Watada as the United States takes him to Trial for Refusing to Obey an Illegal Order, serving in an Illegal and Immoral War!!
Below the information on Lt. Watada you will find information on a Memorial you can Host on your Websites. Sign up Now as the Anniversary of the Illegal Invasion approaches to start hosting this Memorial.

As many of you know, Lt. Ehren Watada's court martial for being the
first commissioned officer to refuse to participate in the illegal and
immoral war in Iraq starts next Monday. There are three events that
Olympia area people should know about,
1} His last local public talk
before the trial at SPSCC on Wednesday, 1/31/07
2} A Celebration of
Resistance to Illegal War in Tacoma on Sunday, 2/4/07, and perhaps most
importantly,
3} A National Day of Action on the first day of the trial on
Monday, 2/5/07 at Ft. Lewis. Details for all events and links are
below.

This one might be to late to plan for if in the area, but I just received it awhile ago myself.

1} Lt. Ehren Watada Speech
When: Wed Jan 31 2007 07:00 PM
Where: SPSCC KJM Performing Arts Center
What: BRICK presents…

Lt. Ehren Watada
A Soldier's Duty: The Illegality of the Iraq War
Wednesday
January 31, 2007
7pm-9pm
SPSCC KJM Performing Arts Center

Ehren Watada will be speaking at South Puget Sound Community College on
Wed. January 31st from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The program will be held in
the new Minneart Center for the Arts, Building 21, in the main theater.
Ehren Watada is the first commissioned officer of the U.S. military to
refuse deployment to Iraq. He will be speaking about why the war and
occupation of Iraq is illegal and immoral, and how to build a mass
movement to bring the troops home. He will also be speaking about his
upcoming military Court Martial (Feb. 5) where is facing up to six
years imprisonment. Admission is free to the public. This event is
sponsored by the student group BRICK (Building Revolution by Increasing
Community Knowledge).

For more information on Lt. Watada's case, see:
Thank You Lt.

2} CELEBRATE RESISTANCE to ILLEGAL WAR!
Welcome Event for Lt. Ehren Watada Supporters

SUNDAY FEB 4th
5-9pm
First Congregational Church
(Pilgram Hall-Downstairs)
209 S J St. Tacoma, WA

Supporters from across the country are mobilizing to the Ft. Lewis area
to
demonstrate support for Lt. Ehren Watada as he faces court martial on
February 5th.

Let's come together to celebrate our resistance to illegal, immoral war
and Lt. Ehren Watada's courageous stand on the night before his court
martial. Meet local community members and visiting supporters as they
gear
up to demonstrate outside the gates of Ft. Lewis and also fill the
courtroom with supporters! The evening's event will include food, music,
speakers and spoken word. A great place to get more information about
the
following day's event, meet and welcome people.

Performance by:

*Ryan Harvey
member of Riot Folk: http://www.riotfolk.org/ )
*Darrell Anderson
Iraq combat veteran and war resister shares spoken-word
*Dennis Kyne, Ethan Crowell and Michael Cuzzort
Acoustic performance by Members of Iraq Veterans Veterans Against the
War
*Steve and Kristi Nebel
*More TBA!

Speakers include:

*Army Col. Ann Wright(Ret.)
Resigned in opposition to the Iraq war in 2003
*Iraq Veterans Against the War members
*Anita Dennis, mother of Iraq war resister Darrell Anderson
*More TBA!

POTLUCK DINNER:

Members of First United Methodist Church and United for Peace of Pierce County will provide a main course
Please bring a dessert or salad and non-alcoholic drinks or something
else you would like to share if possible.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:

I-5 S toward TACOMA OR
I-5 N toward TACOMA
TAKE EXIT 133, TACOMA/CITY CENTER and merge onto I-705 N toward CITY
CENTER. IN ABOUT ½ MILE, EXIT RIGHT, ONTO SCHUSTER PARKWAY.
GET INTO RIGHT LANE, AND take the STADIUM WAY exit
Turn RIGHT onto STADIUM WAY S.
Turn LEFT onto DIVISION AVE. (blue "Hospital" sign is on your right) GO
STRAIGHT THROUGH TWO LIGHTS
At the Third stoplight, turn LEFT ONTO I STREET.
THE PARKING LOT IS ON YOUR IMMEDIATE RIGHT.
ENTER CHURCH THROUGH THE ALLEY DOOR.

For more info contact: welcomefeb4@gmail.com

Sponsored by: The Micah Project of First United Methodist Church, United
for Peace of Pierce County, Friends and Family of Lt. Watada, Olympia
Movement for Justice and Peace, Courage to Resist, Youth Against War and
Racism, and Teen Peace Project.

3}National Call to Action: February 5, Lt. Watada Military Court Martial
On Monday, February 5, 2007 take action against the Iraq war and in support of Lt. Watada during his military court martial. As the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq and for publicly speaking out against the Iraq war Lt. Watada faces 6 years in prison.
Stand up with Lt. Watada and speak out against the illegal and immoral war! Join the national movement and organize student walkouts and non-violent demonstrations. Together, let's build a mass movement in the streets, in our schools, and in our communities to end the Iraq War. On Feb. 5, 2007 rally at the gates of Fort Lewis, Washington or in your local community.
For the full call to action, click here.
For a list of national events, click here.
To endorse the February 5, 2007 National Day of Action email action@ltwatada.org and sign up on our endorsement page

.

Appeal For Redress

Iraq Vets Call on Congress to End War
By Stacy Bannerman
t r u t h o u t | Report

Monday 15 January 2007

As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq. Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for US troops to come home.
- Appeal for Redress

An anti-war organization launched by a 22-year-old Marine and a 29-year-old sailor has accumulated 1,028 signatures from active-duty and Reserve troops calling for an end to the war in Iraq, which has lasted nearly four years. The signatures will be delivered to lawmakers on January 16th.

"There is a distinct difference between the people who make policies and the people who carry them out," says Seaman Jonathan Hutto, co-founder of the Appeal for Redress. If Hutto has his way, that line will begin to blur over the next twenty-four hours. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, more than 50 active-duty members of the Armed Forces will hold a press conference at the Unitarian Church in Norfolk, Virginia, to discuss why they are among the more than 1,000 military personnel - mostly active-duty, and veterans of at least one tour in Iraq - who have signed the Appeal. The troops will be joined by representatives from Iraq Vets Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, GI Rights Hotline and the Military Project.

The following morning, Mr. Hutto and Appeal for Redress co-founder Sergeant Liam Madden (USMC), joined by sailors, Marines and airmen, soldiers and supporters, will deliver a copy of the signed document to Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and other members of the Out of Iraq Caucus on Capitol Hill. Of the dozens of Iraq options being circulated among Democrats, Congressman Kucinich's 12-point plan for US withdrawal is most closely aligned with the Appeal for Redress.

Congressman Kucinich recently said, "The American people voted for new direction. That direction is out of Iraq. Let us rescue our troops. Let us rescue a domestic agenda. Let us reverse policies that created chaos, massive civilian casualties and destruction in Iraq."

The historic Appeal for Redress is "the most significant movement of organized and dissident GIs seen in America since 1969, when 1,366 active-duty service members signed a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for an end to the Vietnam War," according to The Nation ("About Face," January 8, 2007). Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice, calls it "simply unprecedented."

Marine Sergeant Madden calls it "completely legal." The Military Whistle-Blower Protection Act (DOD directive 7050.6) allows active-duty military, National Guard and Reservists, while out of uniform and off duty, to file and send a protected communication to a member of Congress regarding any subject without reprisal. Although their communication to Congress is shielded by law, public opposition to the war in Iraq is still a risky step for these active-duty troops, including high-ranking officers and many who still hope to make the military their lifetime career.

Sgt. Madden, who "braced for a command that wouldn't be happy," feels that working for an end to the war is part of his duty as an American citizen. "The 'surge' is a day late, and a dollar short. No one is happy about it."

"With recent calls for an escalation of troops in Iraq, Congress should listen to those of us who have been there and who will be directly affected by this policy change," states Seaman Hutto, an E4 assigned to mass communications who spent six months on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, stationed "somewhere in the Iraq theater."

Hutto "didn't grow up in a place where the military was highly regarded," and he opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. He didn't reveal his anti-war stance to the Navy when he enlisted in January of 2004, because he needed "the structure, and to pay off student loans." He's almost half-way through his six-year contract, and "hope[s] that the appeal can shift the policy to withdrawal."

"This president is doing this for a legacy and not the good of the American people or the military ... or the people of Iraq," says Sgt. Madden, who is stationed at Quantico, Virginia. Madden's active-duty time in the Marine Corps will end in a matter of days, but he will still be eligible for mobilization and deployment for another four years. The military's standard contract requires eight years of service, which can be fulfilled through a combination of active-duty, Guard, or Reserve service. With the Pentagon's recent decision to lift the cumulative limit that constrained Guard and Reservists to serving no more than 24 months in the Iraq or Afghan wars, it's possible that Sgt. Madden could be called up again.

He spent seven months in the thick of it in Haditha, time that he initially refused to talk about, claiming "it has nothing to do with the Appeal for Redress." But then he said that he was one of the "lucky ones, I didn't come home with any physical or mental problems." When asked what his plans are for the future, Sgt. Madden replies, "To keep on with this struggle until this illegal, immoral war is over."



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Stacy Bannerman is the author of When the War Came Home: The Inside Story of Reservists and the Families They Leave Behind, (Continuum Publishing, 2006). She is a member of Military Families Speak Out, and can be contacted at her web site.