Sarah Olson

Sarah Olson is a "technical writer, radio producer and independent journalist based in Oakland, CA. She has been a regular contributor to Pacifica Radio, Free Speech Radio and San Francisco Liberation Radio. She is a New Hampshire native, and majored in women’s studies at Simmons College in Boston." [1]

In May 2006, she interviewed First Lieutenant Ehren Watada. "In the interview, he asserted that it is his duty as an officer to evaluate the legality of his orders. He said that he could not participate in the Iraq War because it was 'manifestly illegal' and that it would make him a party to war crimes." [2]

A few weeks later, Watada refused to go to Iraq. "In June 2006, Lt. Watada made national headlines when he refused to deploy to Iraq. A court-martial has been convened with one count of 'missing movement' and four counts of 'conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.' Each of the latter four charges is based entirely on political speech. Lt. Watada’s court-martial is scheduled to begin on February 5, 2007. If convicted, Lt. Watada could spend up to six years in prison.

"The Army selected portions of Sarah’s interview to comprise one of the charges of 'conduct unbecoming.' Army Prosecutors claim they need to subpoena Sarah to testify as a prosecution witness to substantiate that charge." [3]

"The military's willingness to subpoena journalists is wrongheaded and ominous," Olson said. "It's a reporter's job to report the news. It's not a reporter's job to participate in the prosecution of ... sources. Once you involve a reporter in prosecution, you turn that reporter into the investigative arm of the government."

In mid-December 2006, Olson was served with a subpoena to give evidence in Watada's court martial. The military has also subpoenaed Gregg Kakesako, the military affairs reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and has listed freelance journalist Dahr Jamail, despite his objections, as a prosecution witness in the case.

Articles By Sarah Olson

Related to 1st Lt. Watada

• Interview: "First Officer Announces Refusal to Deploy to Iraq," truthout, June 7, 2006.
• Report: "First Officer Publicly Resisting War Gains National Support," truthout, June 8, 2006.
• Perspective: "When Soldiers Refuse to Fight: Is the US Army Trying to Silence Lt. Watada?" truthout, June 14, 2006.
• Report: "Lieutenant Watada Refused Iraq Deployment Orders Today," truthout, June 22, 2006.
• Report: "Iraq War Vets' Support for Lt. Watada Growing," truthout, August 16, 2006; AlterNet, August 17, 2006: "A growing number of Iraq war combat vets are resisting orders, going to jail, or going AWOL -- and they want to talk about why."
• "Lieutenant Watada Faces New Charges," truthout, September 18, 2006.
• "Why I object to testifying against Lt. Watada", Commentary, Editor & Publisher, December 30, 2006.
• "Army Attempts to Redefine Free Speech," AlterNet, January 2, 2007: "When does political speech become a crime punishable by imprisonment? When the Army doesn't like what it hears. One journalist shares the battle she and her source face against censorship."

Other Articles

• "Marriage Promotion, Reproductive Injustice, and the War Against Poor Women of Color. Marriage is not the cure-all for poor women, as Republicans would have you believe," dollars&sense (Utne Reader), March 31, 2005.
• "Refusing to Fight,"Making Contact/National Radio Project, June 29, 2005. Posted by Not in Our Name.
• "The Long Walk to Abolish the Death Penalty," Making Contact/National Radio Project, May 3, 2006.
• Report: "Bush Pushes Nuclear Weapons Development in US," truthout, September 1, 2006.
• "Marching Against the Freedom Agenda," truthout, September 19, 2006.
• "Richard Pombo: The 'Darth Vader' of the Environment," truthout, October 13, 2006.

Contact

• Free Press Working Group
• Phone: 510-764-2069

Related SourceWatch Resources

• Defend The Press
• Ehren Watada
• U.S. Military Code of Conduct (UCMJ)

External Links

Letters in Support of Olsen

• Society of Professional Journalists, "Letter to Commanding General Fort Lewis and I Corps, Lt. Gen. James M. Dubik", January 5, 2007.
• PEN, "Letter to Honorable Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense", January 5, 2007.

General Articles

2006

• Aaron Glantz, "Reporter summoned to testify against military objector", Inter Press Service, December 14, 2006.
• Jason Leopold, "Truthout's Sarah Olson Subpoenaed in Watada Case," truthout, December 15, 2006.
• Free Press Working Group, "Journalists say free press threatened by Army subpoena", Free Press, December 28, 2006.
• "Freelancers Fight Army Subpoenas to Testify in Court-Martial," Associated Press (Editor & Publisher), December 29, 2006.
• Press Release: "Journalists speak out against Army's attempts to compel their testimony in court-martial," East Bay Indymedia, December 29, 2006.

2007

• Press Release: "Journalists Sought for Testimony in Military Hearing," Common Dreams, January 2, 2007.
• Kelly Kennedy, "Reporters decry subpoena in Watada case", Army Times, January 2, 2007.
• Free Press Working Group, "Army delays testimony of journalist in Iraq case: Media coverage and opposition grows", Free Press, January 2, 2007.
• Amy Goodwin, "U.S. Army Subpoenas Independent Journalist to Testify in Court-Martial of War Resister First Lt. Ehren Watada," Democracy Now!, January 2, 2007.
• Dahr Jamail, "Democracy Now! Interview: U.S. Army Tries to Force Sarah Olson and Dahr Jamail to Testify Against Ehren Watada," Atlantic Free Press, January 4, 2007.
• Matthew Cardinale, "Delay in Reporter Subpoena in War Objector's Tribunal," APN (Political Affairs Magazine), January 4, 2007.
• Mark Tran, "The Iraq war on trial. Already bogged down in Iraq, the US military must now deal with a court martial hearing that threatens to put the invasion itself in the dock," Guardian Unlimited (UK), January 4, 2007.
• Joe Garofoli, "Journalist in legal battle with military", San Francisco Chronicle, January 5, 2007. See photo.
• "Military Injustice: Army prosecutors are going too far in trying to conscript reporters to boost their case in a soldier's court-martial", Los Angeles Times, Editorial, January 8, 2007.
• Free Press Working Group, "Military Reporters and Editors on subpoenas", Free Press, January 10, 2007.
• "Making Contact's Sarah Olson Fights U.S. Army's Attack on Journalists and Anti-War Voices," National Radio Project, January 10, 2007.
• "Interview a Soldier, Go to Jail," PRWatch.org. January 17, 2007.
• Matthew Rothschild, "Journalist on Hot Seat in Court-Martial Case," The Progressive, January 17, 2007.
• "Two Journalists Gets Subpoenas in Probe of Soldier," Associated Press (Editor & Publisher), January 18, 2007.
• Bob Egelko, "Judge lets charges against Army officer stand. Trial to proceed on refusal to deploy, criticism of Bush," San Francisco Chronicle, January 18, 2007.
• Paul McLeary, "Sarah Olson On Her Role In A Court Martial," CJR Daily, January 19, 2007.
• John Nichols, "Sarah Olson and the Struggle to Save Journalism," The Nation, January 21, 2007.
• Norman Solomon, "The Pentagon vs. Press Freedom," The Palestine Chronicle, January 22, 2007: "By sending subpoenas to Sarah Olson and to another journalist who has reported on Watada (Gregg Kakesako of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin), the Pentagon is trying to chip away at the proper role of news media."
• Joe Strupp, "Reporters Gain Support in Resisting Court Martial Testimony," Editor & Publisher, January 23, 2007.
• Marc Cooper, "The Press and the Watada Trial," The Nation, January 23, 2007.