"I refuse to be silent any longer. I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression. My oath of office is to protect and defend America's laws and its people. By refusing unlawful orders for an illegal war, I fulfill that oath today." Those are the words of Lt. Ehren Watada, who is the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq, and to do so based on the illegality of the war. Veterans for Peace strongly endorses Lt. Watada's courageous and principled action, and I urge everyone to come out and show your support on Tuesday, June 27th which will be a National Day of Action. There will be a rally at 6:00 pm (just after the regular peace rally) in front of the Benton County Courthouse. Please go to www.ThankYouLt.org for more information, and signs and fliers you can download.
Leah Bolger, troopshome@comcast.net