this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2024
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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 day ago (2 children)

In civilized nations, obeying an unlawful order is, itself, unlawful.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (3 children)

Not in the US military, and I'm sure others as well. What civilized nations are you referring to? I can only speak to the US, but enlisted soldiers here take a pledge to follow orders, while the officers are actually the ones to take a pledge to uphold the US constitution.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago

Yeah you're wrong though... UCMJ

[–] [email protected] 5 points 13 hours ago

Not in the US military

Yes, in the US military.

I can only speak to the US, but enlisted soldiers here take a pledge to follow orders,

To follow orders in accordance with the UCMJ.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

US soldiers are not pledging to defend the constitution?!

In Germany for instance every soldiers pledges on the constitution. I thought this was the normal way for countries with a democratic constitution.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 hours ago

No, they absolutely do pledge and affirm that. Not sure what that person is talking about. It's definitely, at least on paper, expected for individuals in the military to refuse to follow unlawful orders. What happens in practice is another story. See: entire history of US military action.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Which honestly might be one of the most underrated democratic safeguards, on top of just helping prevent atrocities towards other people.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Rules-based order > Ruler-based order

I always think, though not in the context of war crimes, how two friends of mine related in Basic Training that the drill instructors would give them strict orders to not let anyone through on guard duty who didn't meet some criteria or another, and then other instructors would come by and attempt to badger and bamboozle the poor trainee soldier into letting them through (and God help any who was stupid enough to let them through).

Rules can be inflexible, but they're also a barrier against arbitrary abuses. Our abuses have to be regular and systemic, dammit!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago

"Criteria"? Were clown noses involved?