2007.04.15: April 15, 2007: Headlines: COS - Peru: Iraq: Speaking Out: Seattle Intelligencer: Peru RPCV Bob Watada becomes outspoken critic of Iraq war
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Peru:
Peace Corps Peru:
Peace Corps Peru: New Stories:
2007.04.15: April 15, 2007: Headlines: COS - Peru: Iraq: Speaking Out: Seattle Intelligencer: Peru RPCV Bob Watada becomes outspoken critic of Iraq war
Peru RPCV Bob Watada becomes outspoken critic of Iraq war
Bob Watada, a 67-year-old retired state official, said after his son, Ehren, became the first military officer to face a court martial for publicly refusing to deploy to Iraq, his life dramatically changed. He researched events leading up the war, started criticizing the Bush administration on its reasons for invading Iraq, and then traveled across the country for much of the past year with his wife to speak about his son and raise money for legal costs. "It was because of him that I've gone out and educated myself," said Bob Watada, who served as executive director of Hawaii's Campaign Spending Commission for a decade. "I've given literally hundreds of speeches. If it wasn't for my son I wouldn't have read all these books."
Peru RPCV Bob Watada becomes outspoken critic of Iraq war
Father becomes outspoken critic of Iraq war
By BRIAN CHARLTON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITERCaption: Lt. Ehren Watada, center, with his niece Kodie Watada and his father, Robert, who opposed the Vietnam War.
HONOLULU -- Since Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada refused to go to Iraq, his father has become an outspoken critic of the war, touring the country to gain support for his son.
Bob Watada, a 67-year-old retired state official, said after his son, Ehren, became the first military officer to face a court martial for publicly refusing to deploy to Iraq, his life dramatically changed.
He researched events leading up the war, started criticizing the Bush administration on its reasons for invading Iraq, and then traveled across the country for much of the past year with his wife to speak about his son and raise money for legal costs.
"It was because of him that I've gone out and educated myself," said Bob Watada, who served as executive director of Hawaii's Campaign Spending Commission for a decade. "I've given literally hundreds of speeches. If it wasn't for my son I wouldn't have read all these books."
The soldier's father talked about his anti-war activities at a Society of Professional Journalists regional meeting in Honolulu during the weekend.
Ehren Watada, 28, refused to deploy with his unit last June because he believes the war is illegal and didn't want to commit acts which he felt could be war crimes. He faces charges of missing movement and conduct unbecoming an officer - and could be sentenced to a dishonorable discharge and six years in prison if convicted.
He faces a second court-martial July 16 after his first trial in February ended abruptly when the judge, Lt. Col. John Head, said he did not believe the soldier fully understood a pretrial agreement he signed admitting elements of the charges.
As part of that agreement, the Army had dropped two of the charges against him, lowering his potential sentence to four years.
His lawyers have advised him to no longer talk about the case, his father said.
"My son has somewhat backed off a little bit," Watada said. "He's somewhat become afraid of what people are going to do to him right now. He's become very cautious."
Bob Watada, however, continues to attract attention despite cutting many of his appearances after his wife, Carolyn Ho, had a stroke. He sometimes brings DVDs of documentaries on the war to hand out and is candid about his son's situation.
He still gets about 30 e-mails a day and sometimes is recognized by people when out in public, he said.
Watada, who had seven brothers in the military, also opposed the Vietnam War, served in the Peace Corps in Peru, and extended his education to avoid the draft, claiming that war was illegal.
He said he discussed his opinions on war with his son when Ehren had decided to join the Army.
"He felt there were terrorists out there and he wanted to do his part," Watada said of his son.
Both of the accused soldier's parents have remained supportive, crisscrossing the nation to speak after canceling a move to Japan, where they had planned to spend a few years.
"We saw that there are a lot of beautiful places in this country," Watada said.
While the Watadas spoke against the war in Oregon, they visited Eugene where they found friendly people, beautiful pine trees and lush valleys and a comfortable climate. The couple also discovered a farm house, where they plan to move in May.
"Because of Ehren I discovered my paradise," Watada said.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: April, 2007; Peace Corps Peru; Directory of Peru RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Peru RPCVs; Iraq; Speaking Out
When this story was posted in April 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Suspect confesses in murder of PCV Search parties in the Philippines discovered the body of Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell near Barangay Batad, Banaue town on April 17. Director Tschetter expressed his sorrow at learning the news. “Julia was a proud member of the Peace Corps family, and she contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens in Donsol, Sorsogon, where she served,” he said. Latest: Suspect Juan Duntugan admits to killing Campbell. Leave your thoughts and condolences . |
| Warren Wiggins: Architect of the Peace Corps Warren Wiggins, who died at 84 on April 13, became one of the architects of the Peace Corps in 1961 when his paper, "A Towering Task," landed in the lap of Sargent Shriver, just as Shriver was trying to figure out how to turn the Peace Corps into a working federal department. Shriver was electrified by the treatise, which urged the agency to act boldly. Read Mr. Wiggins' obituary and biography, take an opportunity to read the original document that shaped the Peace Corps' mission, and read John Coyne's special issue commemorating "A Towering Task." |
| Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
| Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
| The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
| PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Seattle Intelligencer
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Peru; Iraq; Speaking Out
PCOL36932
21