SEATTLE (August 12, 2006) - Hundreds of military veterans welcome Iraq war refuse Lt. Ehren Watada as a keynote speaker of the Veterans for Peace National Convention with chants of "thank you LT!" This his Lt. Watada's speech:

Thank you everyone. Thank you all for your tremendous support. How honored and delighted I am to be in the same room with you tonight. I am deeply humbled by being in the company of such wonderful speakers.

You are all true American patriots. Although long since out of uniform, you continue to fight for the very same principles you once swore to uphold and defend. No one knows the devastation and suffering of war more than veterans - which is why we should always be the first to prevent it.

Lt. Watada and mother Carolyn Ho

These include: Lt. Watada's initial June 7, 2006 press conference in Tacoma, Washington; His speech to the National Veterans for Peace convention in Seattle August 12, 2006; A press conference following the August 17, 2006 article 32 pre-trial hearing; A break in the January 5, 2007 pre-trial hearing on Fort Lewis, Washington.

Many supporters of Lt. Watada joined a mass march of 10,000 in San Francisco January 27, 2007 to call for an immediate withdrawal of troops from the ongoing occupation war in Iraq. A number of speakers talked about the need to support Lt. Ehren Watada, the first officer to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq, during his upcoming Feb. 5 court martial at Fort Lewis, Washington. One of those speakers was Lt. Watada’s mother Carolyn Ho. The crowd was also urged to remember Army Spc. Agustin Aguayo who is facing a March court martial, a seven years in prison, for refusing to return to Iraq. Spc. Aguayo filled for a conscientious objector discharge during his previous deployment to Iraq in February 2004. He served a full year there, all the while refusing to load his weapon. The military denied his discharge anyway.

Photo gallery by Jeff Paterson / Courage to Resist

Journalists and anti-war activists subpoenaed for Army prosecution

Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist. January 7, 2007

FORT LEWIS, WA - U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada became the first commissioned officer to refuse his orders to deploy to Iraq last June 22. In his upcoming February court-martial Lt. Watada faces one charge of missing troop movement, and four counts of conduct unbecoming an officer. Each of the later four charges relates to Lt. Watada’s public explanations of his refusal to deploy to Iraq. If convicted of all charges Lt. Watada faces six years in prison, four of which would be for speaking to the press.