An Officer Without Conviction

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada will not follow orders to deploy to Iraq. He says that he believes the war is illegal, and he won't take part in it.

In response, the 300 member congregation at the First United Methodist Church of Tacoma has decided to provide the right of sanctuary to soldiers, "Who are unable to deploy to combat areas for reasons of conscience."

Rev. Monty Smith said that the church will support any soldier who shares its "social-justice convictions."

"Our initiative was because of Lieutenant Watada's gesture and a clear sense that we have, as a reconciling congregation, deeply involved in justice issues throughout the city, that any war, particularly this one, is inconsistent with Christian teachings," he told the Seattle paper.

I, for one, think that Watada is a coward and a traitor. He has said that he will go to Afghanistan, but not Iraq.
"The wholesale slaughter and mistreatment of the Iraqi people with only limited accountability is not only a terrible moral injustice but a contradiction to the Army's own Law of Land Warfare," Watada said.

Court-Martial him. He deserves to rot in jail.

As for the First United Methodist Church of Tacoma... If they want to speak out in political matters, fine. However, if they want to directly interfere with government policies without going through the arduous task of change through legislation, voting, ect... I believe that they should lose their tax-exempt status. They are no longer acting as a church!

I also wonder if they are aware that they cannot house deserters inside church property. The Right of Asylum (sanctuary) is a medieval law that was abolished by King James in 1623. It has never been recognized or practiced in America. The very idea that they would offer the Right of Asylum is preposterous!