veterans returning from Iraq, he ceased to believe in its legality and justification. Attempt to resign In January 2006, Watada attempted to resign. In his letter, he asserted that he was "wholeheartedly opposed to the continued war in Iraq", citing what he believed to be lawlessness and dishonesty in its justification. He came to the conclusion after doing his own personal research, including reading books by Seymour Hersh and James Bamford as well as learning about the Downing Street Memo, a British government document that stated that war in Iraq was "inevitable" and "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy" of war. Watada also asserted, in discussions with other soldiers, that he and his fellow servicemen were complicit in war crimes. Watada stated that he was not a conscientious objector because he was not opposed to all wars as a matter of principle, and he stated that he had offered to serve in Afghanistan, which he regarded as "an unambiguous war linked to the September 11 attacks." This was refused; Watada, in turn, refused an offer for a desk job in Iraq without direct combat involvement, stating that the point of his protest was not about combat. Charges and proposed court-martial 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). After the initial preferral, all but three specifications were dropped; the remaining charges sent to the court-martial were: Two specifications Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman (for statements made in speeches and interviews) (Article 133) One specification Missing Movement (for refusing to deploy to Iraq on June 22) (Article 87) When the initial charges were preferred, Watada faced the possibility of a general court-martial and up to seven years in prison, as well as dismissal from the service. ("dismissal" is the only class of punitive discharge for U.S. commissioned officers; it is the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge, to which enlisted personnel may be sentenced.) Faced with these consequences, Watada said that he did not regret his decision, stating that he believed it to have been his moral responsibility: When you are looking your children in the eye in the future, or when you are at the end of your life, you want to look back on your life and know that at a very important moment, when I had the