HONOLULU -- The father of Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada said he is ready for the possibility the military may put his son in jail for refusing to deploy to Iraq.

Former state Campaign Spending Commission Chairman Bob Watada said he and his son have discussed how the military may imprison him. Bob Watada said he will stand by his son, who he described as patriotic and stubborn.

Ehren Watada, who turns 28 this week, is refusing to join his Fort Lewis, Wash.-based unit when it leaves for Iraq later this month. The lieutenant said the president deliberately misled the nation into war.

In a written statement released to the press, Ehren Watada said that, "Joining the Army is a choice I will never regret: my decision to reject unlawful and immoral orders in spite of the danger, has taught me the true meaning of sacrifice. I hope that my example shows other soldiers that they too have the freedom and the duty to choose right over wrong."

He said the best way he can support his fellow troops is to oppose the war and end it so all soldiers can come home.

The lieutenant is an 'artillery officer' with a Stryker Brigade. He said that last year he began reading numerous books and articles about the war after learning he was to be deployed. He said he feels that the president manipulated issues and efforts to initiate the war that Watada called "a lie."

He said the books and articles came to the same conclusion: "We were all deceived."

"Recent reports show us that this war is a debacle of enormous proportions and there never was just cause. I felt as though our lives were being wasted for nothing," Watada said in his written statement.

For the last six months Watada has been trying get the army to reassign him, or let him resign his commission. He said he is not a conscientious objector. He just objects to this war.

Watada, a 1996 graduate of Kalani High School, turned to both his parents before making up his mind.

"He made the decision not me that he was going to take this stand, and I'm very, very proud of him," Bob Watada said.

Bob Watada had seven brothers in the military. He himself joined the Peace Corps because he didn't agree with the Vietnam War. He said he lost a brother in the Korean War.

"I fully understand what it does to a family. I see the news. I see the Americans killed. I see the Iraqis killed and it just breaks my heart," Bob Watada said.

Ehren Watada didn't think his mother, Carolyn Ho, would approve of his plans to join the Army. However, it was his mom who tried to talk him out of his decision to refuse to go to Iraq.

"I got him to the point where he was starting to waiver, and the next day he called me and said, 'You know mom, I felt betrayed." And I tried to explain myself, you know, for myself I would do what he's doing. I tried to explain I would stand up and do what's he's doing. But, because he's my kid, I wanted him to have the perfect life settle down to get married, have a career, make a lot of money and now he's gone down this road. It took me a lot of soul searching to accept what has been happening," Ho said.

A spokesman at Fort Lewis said the Army is aware of Watada's plans but wouldn't speculate on what might happen.

Watada could face court-martial charges for refusing his orders.

Watada's parents plan to fly to Fort Lewis to be with their son as his unit prepares to deploy to Iraq.