Army subpoenas journalists over officer's (Coward's)quotes

S F Chron ^ | 18 DEC 2006 | Bob Egelko

[armymarinemom]

Watada used his Military ID photo for the papers in Honolulu. The guy is a rock star over there and shoots his mouth in a big way.

[PeteB570]

Well if the press quoted him it must be true. Would the press lie to us and make up stuff just to help with a story?

Come on.

Shoot him.

[goodnesswins]

WHOA....this is RICH!!!!!!!! What a dilemma for a socialist.....what a dilemma! Thanks for the ping, Bay. How ya feeling?

[CatoRenasci]

Sounds like the something from the Roman Legions.

The Roman legions, at least in the Republic and early Imperial periods, were made up of volunteers. Roman citizens only and, until Marius' reforms there were property qualifications for the right to be Roman soldier! They didn't need punishment battalions. Of course, if a unit did run away, it would be decimated: every 10th man would be executed per l'encouragement l'autres.

[GOP_1900AD]

Shoot him.

[USNBandit]

The missing movement thing is pretty clear cut.

I think the prosecution is trying to get evidence for Article 88. Contempt Toward Officials, for some of his statements to the left wing press. They need to legally establish that he made the published statements.

[CatoRenasci]

They'll simply lie and say they made the statements up.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

I've read of the punishemnt of decimation.

As I recall, it wasn't something that was needed often after the first or second time it was employed.

[USNBandit]

Watada isn't your run of the mill scared running to Canada guy. He is a "true believer" leftist who might admit that he made the statements. His original press statement after refusing to deploy might make him guilty of Art. 88 already.

It will be interesting to see how this all works out

[CatoRenasci]

If I recall correctly, there was at least talk of the French Army using it in response to the serious Mutiny in 1917, though I'm not sure if any units were actually decimated.

Another interesting point about the Roman military is that there was no standing army during the Republic, troops were only raised as needed. It could be for an extended campaign that would take several years, but at the end of the campaign, the legions would be disbanded - a major social issue was land for the demobilized veterans in the late Republic after the property qualifications for military duty were lifted. Our society could use some Roman virtue about now. Too damned many free riders on the few who serve voluntarily.

[CatoRenasci]

Perhaps you're right, he's not just your average scumbag. Too bad they can't have an old fashioned drumming out where they strip all of his insignia and buttons off and run him through a gantlet before hauling his ashes off to Leavenworth. Makes me feel dirty just to think he wore the same uniform....

[Red_Devil 232]

"What we need in this country now is more dialogue and not less."

Dialogue? We don't need no freaking "Dialouge"! We need freaking JUSTICE!

[razorback-bert]

When the offensive ended in early May in bloody disaster, it caused the ranks of the French army to mutiny. Whole regiments refused orders to advance or to head for the front. On May 15 the French government dismissed Nivelle and replaced him with Pétain, who set about to restore discipline. France suppressed details about the mutiny at the time, but later estimates suggest that 49 soldiers convicted of mutiny were executed. In personal visits to more than 100 French divisions, Pétain calmly assured the troops that there would be no more offensives like the one Nivelle had launched. Although the incident could have been disastrous for the French, the German intelligence service gained no reliable information about the mutinies until after Pétain had restored order.

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761569981_9/World_War_I.html

[L,TOWM]

Also sounds like something from the Red Army, circa 1918 - 1989.

[USNBandit]

I would like to know what commissioning program he entered under. I know he was commissioned after the invasion. If he wasn't enrolled in ROTC then I suspect he entered just to refuse orders to Iraq.

The unfortunate reality is that besides jail time, which will most likely be short, he will suffer few consequences for his actions. He will most likely find employment with some leftist organization, or go into the corrupt Hawaii dem system to do something.

[james500]

"The ethical problem in this case, she said, is that she would be aiding the prosecution of one of the dissidents and war critics who regularly trust her to tell their stories to the public."

DISSIDENTS??? Human Rights Watch is going to release a report on the persecution of political dissidents in America, I'm sure. Boy, this is just like the Soviet Union!

[Stone Mountain]

I would like to know what commissioning program he entered under. I know he was commissioned after the invasion. If he wasn't enrolled in ROTC then I suspect he entered just to refuse orders to Iraq.

He joined after 9/11 when we were going into Afghanistan but before Iraq. He said he was always ready to serve in Afghanistan, but when the Iraq orders came through, he refused.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

I appreciate your taking time to give me a lesson in military history, I truly enjoy learning things I didn't know. Thanks =-)

It's to my shame that I never served, I have nothing but total respect for those who have put their lives on the line answering the call of duty. If I were younger and had it to do over, I would have enlisted out of high school.

And yes, we could certainly use some classical virtue in this nation. Something that has been sorely lacking since the early 50s or so.

[CatoRenasci]

I think Wannabe was what we (at VMI) used to call a "Hotsy Totsy Rotcee Nazi" .... but he he might have been OCS. Only thing for sure is he not a trade school or military college product. (Of course, there's always Conroy, whose 'come to Jesus' meeting with himself was over 30 years late, who was a military college (Citade) product, but he was the exception rather than the rule)