Via Drudge, this piece caught my eye about Lt. Ehren Watada, the soldier saying he’ll refuse to serve in Iraq.
His name had been kept a secret until now, but Lt. Watada’s father confirms that his son is taking this bold step and told the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper that he’s proud of his son.
According to this piece, Lt. Watada’s father is Bob Watada, retired executive director for Hawaii’s Campaign Spending Commission:
To many, Bob Watada is an honorable and courageous man, who despite his quick laugh and big heart, has not hesitated to bring to their knees and to jail some of the most powerful and corrupt political insiders in Hawaii.
To others, the recently retired state Campaign Spending Commission executive director is a despised scoundrel accused of having a political agenda and the gumption to use the powers of his office to forward that agenda. [. . .]
[Rosa and Bob Watada] also spend time in the mainland visiting Watada’s two grown sons, Lorin and Ehren.
I decided to find out if Lt. Watada or his father have had any associations with anti-war groups or anti-war movements. After a short time on Google, this turned up–a posting on a forum at the University of Hawaii:
During the past year, [Bob Watada] confided to me his opposition to the War in Iraq.
He likened Bush Two to be equal to Adolf Hitler.
Although I don’t have any strong feelings about the subject, I generally side with the national political establishment.
In recent years, I’ve been mildly criticizing the truth about how Europe began conquering the Planet starting in the 15th Century.
Of course, America’s empire is just an extension of Europe’s exploits.
When I was just out of high school, Robert taught me frosh college economics at Kapiolani Community College on Pensacola Street.
This appears to have been posted by someone named Mike G. H. Chun. Sadly, it seems you can’t trust anyone these days. If Mr. Watada’s Bush/Hitler sentiments are accurate, this could help illuminate why he’s so proud of his son for opposing the war.
UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has a good round-up of reactions.
UPDATE II: After reading this post at Riehl World View, I looked up Watada’s IP, which returns:
166.122.121.189 should be located somewhere around here:
Honolulu, HI 96822USA (United States)
This suggests more strongly that Bob Watada has been inclined not only to express his feelings, but also to take an active role in the anti-war movement.