Minutes after the declaration of a mistrial in the Watada court-martial, David Swanson said that Barbara Cummings reported from outside the courtroom "a prevalent rumor . . . that the Army will not go through with the new trial."[1]  --  Swanson wrote:  "Is the Army incompetent or fed-up with Bush?  If you said both, you win the grand prize.  And Lt. Ehren Watada may just have won his freedom." ...

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WATADA COURT-MARTIAL ENDS IN MISTRIAL
By David Swanson

After Downing Street
February 7, 2007

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/18305

Is the Army incompetent or fed-up with Bush? If you said both, you win the grand prize. And Lt. Ehren Watada may just have won his freedom. Barbara Cummings just phoned me from outside the court to say they'd ended in a mistrial and scheduled a new trial for March 19th at 4 p.m. The mistrial is the result, she was told, of the Army closing its case yesterday and then trying to introduce something new today. There's a prevalent rumor, she said, that the Army will not go through with the new trial. But a rumor is only a rumor, and it's possible the Army fully intends to press its case and try to do a better job of it.

This fits with reports of how well the trial has been going for Watada, but the question remains: did the Army cause a mistrial on purpose? The reports are that the prosecutors requested a mistrial. So, the question is really: why?

In any event, Watada has already set an example for others, and it seems reasonable to hope that this result will help boost the number of men and women who find the nerve to follow his example.

The AP and Reuters stories below give a slightly different account of the mistrial from Barbara's. A News Tribune article sheds some light. It appears Watada's case has been strengthened and the Army's key evidence thrown out. That would appear to give some plausibility to the rumor that the Army will drop the case.