The following Minute in support of
Lt. Ehren Watada's
refusal to participate in the "illegal invasion and occupation" of
Iraq was adopted by the Agate Passage Friends (Quaker) Meeting of
Bainbridge Island, WA., on August 13, 2006.
“We of Agate Passage Friends Meeting wish to extend our support for
Lieutenant Ehren Watada for the courageous stand he has taken against
the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Lt. Watada believes that the
U.S.A.’s preemptive war and the resulting occupation and violence in
Iraq is illegal and finds participation in that war unacceptable for him
and his conscience.
As Quakers we have a longstanding and deep commitment to support
Conscientious Objectors (COs) who take a stand against participation in
war when the forces within a culture call persons to use violence. We
see Lt. Watada as a person of conscience who has sought to make a clear
distinction between what is morally acceptable and what is morally
unacceptable.
Clearly Lt. Watada is a brave soldier. He is not only willing to go to
prison for his beliefs, he is also a man of deep conviction who is
willing to fight and die under certain circumstances and equally
unwilling under others. Lt. Watada and others like him deserve not only
our support but our deepest gratitude for opening hearts and minds to a
new perspective on what it means to take a conscientious stand against
violence.”