Officer refuses to go to Iraq

Just saw something on Fox News today that upset me a little. Apparently, officer Ehren Watada believes that the war in Iraq is “unlawful,” so he refused to fight (see MSN | Outlook, Office, Skype, Bing, Breaking News, and Latest Videos). A few words came to mind when I saw this (perfidy, cowardice, impotence, etc.), but his story isn’t even what upset me. It’s the reaction he got from the crowd.Everyone jumped on this pompous f**k Watada bandwagon, using hollow and tactless expressions like the ones that came to my mind when I first heard the story. The reason that these comments are hollow is that these people are sitting in the comfort of this country, flaunting their patriotism knowing full well that they’ll never have to risk their lives to prove themselves.The reason they’re tactless is that Watada has reasoned that he won’t fight because the war is unlawful. Chances are he’ll be court-martialed for this, so I’m sure he’s fully aware of the negative feedback he’ll get. Do people really think that just because they say “what about your friends in the military” and “what of the people who have already died” that he’ll say, “Ok, I guess you’re right. I’m no longer inclined to believe that the war is unlawful.” Of course he isn’t going to say this because it doesn’t logically follow. I got the impression that people don’t give a s**t about his views, and are only voicing their opinions to have that nice little smug aftereffect (see link to see what kind of smug I’m referring to).My point is that if people actually worried about this officer and the decision he was making, they’d address his point. I say this because if he truly believes what he said, then most people should agree with him. Before you respond saying, “What are you talking about!? I don’t agree with that at all,” I’d like you to consider the hypothetical scenario that some officer refused to serve Hitler’s “final solution to the Jewish problem.” This person would probably be considered a hero, and worthy of our greatest praise. Similarly, if Bush made some ethically repugnant command, should Watada serve him? I believe that we should be trying to convince Watada that Bush is aiming to bring peace and prosperity to Iraq, while minimizing US military intervention. Though the “true intentions” and effectiveness of his plan are debatable, what is being done is for the sake of Iraq, which in turn affects the security of our nation. If people care about his opinion at all, they should attack him under this light.Just thought I'd voice my opinion because it seems to be pretty controversial.

Thanks! And you're absolutely right; my gut reaction to this incident was an unfair one. However, I kept an open mind, and my opinion of him changed after considering his story. Though I still disagree with what he did, I didn't maintain my first impression.And I think given the same chance, many of the people in the crowd would be able to make the same transition. However, when part of a group, a person tends to be more narrow-minded and follows the emotion and rationalizations of the crowd. It's like what Tommy Lee Jones said in MIB, "A person is smart. People are stupid." I'm probably not immune to this commonality, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.Edited by jmrozi1, : added subtitle