I am so very sorry that I didn't realize that you were a judge. You know, the people that actually determine whether something voted through the legislature is actually legal or not.
Not a judge, just an attorney. You know, the people that make up 95% of the legislature which enacted this resolution.
Thank you also for reminding me that EVERY SINGLE ruling by the supreme court has been unanimous because interpreting these things are so darn simple. Frankly, I'm not sure why there IS a court system in your world. There is no wiggle room at all.
There is wiggle room for issues where there is ambiguity. There is no ambiguity here. You may want there to be but there isn't.
Of course the resolution and all actions will probably be held up as legal.
Gee I wonder why? Could it be that Watada was simply relying on the public to rally around him to make it not politically expedient for a conviction? Boy he backed the wrong horse on that one.
But in order for that to occur it has to come in front of a judge. Watada is providing that venue. Your personal attacks on him for what may very well be the mistake of his life are simply offensive though.
Why don't you ask the guys under his command who are getting shot at and blown up how offensive they find it. But I'll do you one better. One of my fellow associates happens to be a former captain in the rangers. He also just happens to have spent a great deal of time in Iraq starting with the first weeks of the war. I'm pretty sure that the word filter won't let me use the language he employs to describe Watada.
As a result, given the reaction from other members of the army, I feel pretty confident in my reserved descriptions of this "lost" soul.
You seem to forget that as a human he had to interpret his role in all of this through his own personal (and ever changing) filter of morality.
And you make an assumption that it was morality that was the reason behind his decision. Neither you nor I can get into his mind to determine the true reason for his disobeying orders. However, it is equally likely that when he found out he was going to have to leave his desk job in Korea and go play in the sand box he had a huge change of heart.
In fact, I don't only think its possible, I think its really likely. He joined the army AFTER we had gone into Iraq. If this was was such a problem for him, wouldn't it be natural to voice reservations prior to its beginning? Even if he simply wasn't sure, is it natural to join the military knowing you have a 99.9% chance of being sent to fight in a conflict that you have reservations about.
I don't think so.