Ehren Keoni Watada (born 1978) is a former first lieutenant of the United States Army, best known as the first commissioned officer in the US armed forces to refuse to deploy to Iraq.

[8][9] Watada joined the Army after the war in Iraq had begun, stating that he was motivated "out of a desire to protect our country" after the September 11 attacks.

He was commissioned by the Army's Officer Candidate School, on November 20, 2003, at Fort Benning, Georgia, as a second lieutenant of field artillery—one month after Security Council Resolution 1511 authorized a multinational force in Iraq.

[11] In response to Watada's refusal to deploy, the Army initially preferred seven specifications of various offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

Also testifying in Watada's defense were former United Nations Undersecretary Denis Halliday, and Army Colonel Ann Wright (ret.

Keith justified the additional charge by asserting that "contempt for the President and the suggestion that US soldiers can stop the war simply by refusing to fight borders on mutiny and sedition.

Of the court-martial recommendation, Seitz accused the Army of trying Watada without looking seriously at his arguments and that of the other experts appearing at the trial about the legality of the war.

[22] On November 9, 2006, the U.S. Army announced the decision of the Fort Lewis commander, LTG James Dubik, that Watada would face a court martial.

[23] Watada's defense team had intended to demonstrate that the war was illegal by maintaining that the required congressional approval was granted only on the basis of the existence of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq and ties between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda.

[27] At a pre-trial press conference Watada remarked that he believed it his duty to refuse to fight in the war, and that he was prepared to face prison time for his beliefs.

He faced three specifications: one for missing movement, and two for "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" related to his public comments criticizing the Bush administration and the war.

[28] Panel selection was conducted on the first day, narrowing a pool of ten officers down to seven, ranking from captain through lieutenant colonel.

On the second day of his court-martial, the prosecution presented opening arguments stating that Watada had "abandoned his soldiers and disgraced himself and the service"[29] and began calling witnesses.

[30] Watada had also stipulated that he had indeed missed his brigade's June deployment to Iraq and that he made a series of public statements against the war.

[31] A new court martial was set for March 19, 2007[32] rescheduled for July 23, 2007, and then postponed until October 9, 2007,[33] as an appeal based on the issue of double jeopardy delayed the case.

Watada was represented by Ken Kagan and Jim Lobsenz with the Seattle law firm Carney Badley Spellman,[34] who had replaced Eric Seitz.

Others, including the military defense attorney assigned to Watada, as well as Kagan and Lobsenz, argued that double jeopardy attached at the start of the presentation of evidence.

[5] Watada's defense attorney stated that in his opinion, "the Army came to the conclusion that it was not going to be able to prevail in a prosecution, and when the new solicitor general came in, her office had a fresh look at it, and as it was not bound by any of the decisions that had been made previously, they saw fit to put a stop to the appellate process.

According to AR 635-200, an OTH discharge is reserved for a "pattern of behavior that constitutes a significant departure from the conduct expected of Soldiers of the Army.

"[42] Rallies were held at the gates of Fort Lewis during the court-martial; the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that the first day drew "more than 1,000" supporters,[43] including Desert Storm Veteran Dennis Kyne [44] and the actor[45] Sean Penn.

[15] Watada's father, Bob, also became a critic of the war[52] and went on a national tour[53] to raise money for his son's defense, from October 26 to November 17.