Zarqawi and Watada

If you're reading this you doubtless already know that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al Qaeda's top man in Iraq, was taken out by a couple of 500-pound bombs the other day. So I'm a little slow, what're ya gonna do? This is a cause for celebration. However, I do not celebrate the death of a man (though assigning him the status of human being is being generous). Rather, I celebrate what that death represents, and the death of what his continued existence would have represented. No, it's not the end of the war. The power vacuum will be filled. But hopefully the organization will be that much less capable and, when we get the guy who takes Zarqawi's place, that cycle will continue until Al Qaeda is finally rendered impotent and irrelevant.

Still, I can't help but smile wickedly when I hear that, not only did Zarqawi know what hit him, his dying sight was of his enemy surrounding him. It is telling that, despite this man's horrific acts in life, the enemy he swore to destroy tried to save his life, and then cleaned his body after he died.

And perhaps as important as cutting off the head of Al Qaeda in Iraq is the treasure trove of intelligence we obtained from the target house. This war is about information as much as it is about people and we just scored a major victory on both fronts.

In slightly older news which pretty much got blown away metaphorically as Zarqawi did literally, 1st Lieutenant Ehren Watada is refusing his orders to deploy to Iraq stating that he believes the war to be illegal.

"I feel that we have been lied to and betrayed by this administration," Watada said Tuesday in a telephone interview from Fort Lewis. "It is the duty, the obligation of every soldier, and specifically the officers, to evaluate the legality, the truth behind every order — including the order to go to war."

Of course, he's not making his stand alone.

In making his decision, Watada has reached out to peace groups, including clergy, students, some veterans opposed to Iraq and others. Some war critics are raising money for his legal defense as they seek to galvanize broader opposition to Bush administration policy in Iraq.

"There has been an outpouring of support in the Puget Sound area," said David Solnit, who works with the anti-war group Courage to Resist. The group and others are helping organize a press conference today in Tacoma to launch the support campaign.

The press conference happened already, but Lt. Watada was ordered not to attend since it was during his duty hours. Instead, he provided a videotaped statement.

Here's what it comes down to. As an officer in the United States Military, you do not get to pick and choose where you go and what you do. You follows the orders of superior officers. If you believe an order to be illegal, you can refuse to obey it, but you invite a court martial to determine whether or not you were right to do so in that case. Unless he relents and obeys his order, I hope and expect that he will face a court martial. In any event, his career is effectively over.

I've heard the theory that this was his intention all along, that he enlisted in the Army, went through OCS, and became a 1st Lt. all for the purpose of pulling a political stunt. My tendency is to discount this theory because someone who would want to do that probably wouldn't have the right personality to endure basic training, OCS, etc. and be convincing enough to make it all the way through. I think it's more like a case of "buyer's remorse." He went in with good intentions but changed his mind along the way. Unfortunately for him, it's not like buying a car and then changing your mind.

In any case, he also made the choice to associate with individuals and groups opposed to the war effort and has allowed them to use him to advance their cause. I think that is the most telling fact of all. He's a godsend to them. After all, it's perfectly okay to criticize the opinions of a civilian who opposes the war effort. But when it's an officer in the armed forces, the perception is that he is somehow immune to criticism, just like people who lost loved ones in 9/11 or in combat (i.e. Cindy Sheehan). Well they're not. And I refuse to refrain from such criticism if I believe it to be warranted.

Lt. Watada has made his choice. Now he must face the consequences of that choice.