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Report it briefly but do not pursue the issue or dwell on it in any way; such are the policy directives from the West’s mass media outlets. The public must not be allowed to dwell on Obama’s MASSIVE FAILURE to redeem the Nation and the Presidency from its sordid and criminal (very recent) past.
Ehren Watada
Today, the office of the Presidency remains a whore and the nation continues to wallow in a mire of guilt, denial and self-justification. However, all is not lost, it never is! Some Americans have, in highly confronting situations, refused to engage in heinous criminal activity or betray their humanity by committing acts of torture.
True to the spirit and noble principles of the Geneva Convention an American commissioned officer, Lt. Ehren Watada, displayed exceptional bravery by ‘REFUSING THE ORDER to deploy in Iraq. Watada’s case emphasises the FACT that the final decision to engage in criminal behaviour rests with the individual and his/her conscience – “following orders” does not exonerate anyone, Mr Obaa’ma, as the Nuremberg Trials clearly demonstrated!
A number of CIA, military personnel and high ranking officials of the former regime remain guilty of the most heinous crime known to civilised society – the conscious application of acute pain and distress on a helpless victim – TORTURE!
As a result of media suppression few people are familiar with the case of Lt. Ehren Watada, one of America’s unsung, unassuming, true heroes. Watada refused deployment to Iraq on the basis that it was/is a CRIMINAL WAR and illegal occupation – today, the world knows it too well!
Watada was subsequently victimised and court-martialled for not following orders; nevertheless, his case proves beyond all doubt that it is the individual who takes final responsibility for his/her actions! Those who torture do so by their own volition and therefore MUST pay for their crimes against HUMANITY!
Fully conscious of the repercussions of his actions, Lt Watada displayed exceptional bravery given the prevailing circumstances, rabid (Bush) regime and militaristic fervour.
I offer the following few quotes from a speech Lt. Watada delivered to the Veterans for Peace National Convention in August, 2006. Watada’s moving speech places Obama’s feeble response to the crime of TORTURE in (an American) context:
Watada prefaced his speech with this statement; “As the order to take part in an illegal act is ultimately unlawful ..I must [therefore] refuse that order.”
“The American soldier must rise above the socialization that tells them authority should always be obeyed without question. Rank should be respected but never blindly followed. Awareness of the history of atrocities and destruction committed in the name of America - either through direct military intervention or by proxy war - is crucial. They must realize that this is a war not out of self-defense but by choice, for profit and imperialistic domination. WMD, ties to Al Qaeda, and ties to 9/11 never existed and never will. …
The soldier must know that our narrowly and questionably elected officials intentionally manipulated the evidence presented to Congress, the public, and the world to make the case for war. They must know that neither Congress nor this administration has the authority to violate the prohibition against pre-emptive war - an American law that still stands today. This same administration uses us for rampant violations of time-tested laws banning torture and degradation of prisoners of war.”
“The oath we take swears allegiance not to one man but to a document of principles and laws designed to protect the people. Enlisting in the military does not relinquish one's right to seek the truth - neither does it excuse one from rational thought nor the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. "I was only following orders" is never an excuse.”
“…soldiers have the unrelinquishable obligation to refuse complicity in war crimes perpetrated by their government. Widespread torture and inhumane treatment of detainees is a war crime.”
“If I am to be punished it should be for following the rule of law over the immoral orders of one man. If I am to be punished it should be for not acting sooner. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period … was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."
“ .. we compromise now by allowing a government that uses war as the first option instead of the last to act with impunity. Many have said this about the World Trade Towers, "Never Again." I agree. Never again will we allow those who threaten our way of life to reign free - be they terrorists or elected officials. The time to fight back is now - the time to stand up and be counted is today.”
Lt. Watada ended his moving speech with another quote from a great American, Martin Luther King; "One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law."
Entire speech available below; read it and weep, Mr Barack Obama, you unspeakable, lackey coward.
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