Today, I speak with you about a radical idea. It is one born from the very concept of the American soldier (or service member). It became instrumental in ending the Vietnam War - but it has been long since forgotten. The idea is this: that to stop an illegal and unjust war, the soldiers can choose to stop fighting it. ~ as spoken by Lieutenant Ehren Watada last Saturday night at the National Veterans for Peace Convention.
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This is the kind of troop I support. Lt. Watada is an officer I would have been proud to serve under as a member of the U.S. Army. And his words echo my very thoughts.
If corrupted leadership continues to demand unlawful acts be conducted by our service members, it is the duty of every uniformed soldier to refuse felonious leadership ordering them into the bowels of hell. It is their sworn duty to defend the Constitution of the United States. It is their duty to return the military to its intended purpose - defense of the nation and refusal to obey all illegal orders. To do otherwise is to aid and abet the acts of criminals.
Reminder to military members: The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) 809.ART.90 (20), makes it clear that military personnel need to obey the "lawful command of his superior officer," 891.ART.91 (2), the "lawful order of a warrant officer", 892.ART.92 (1) the "lawful general order", 892.ART.92 (2) "lawful order". In each case, military personnel have an obligation and a duty to only obey Lawful orders and indeed have an obligation to disobey Unlawful orders, including orders by the president that do not comply with the UCMJ. The moral and legal obligation is to the U.S. Constitution and not to those who would issue unlawful orders, especially if those orders are in direct violation of the Constitution and the UCMJ.
********************
This is the kind of troop I support. Lt. Watada is an officer I would have been proud to serve under as a member of the U.S. Army. And his words echo my very thoughts.
If corrupted leadership continues to demand unlawful acts be conducted by our service members, it is the duty of every uniformed soldier to refuse felonious leadership ordering them into the bowels of hell. It is their sworn duty to defend the Constitution of the United States. It is their duty to return the military to its intended purpose - defense of the nation and refusal to obey all illegal orders. To do otherwise is to aid and abet the acts of criminals.
Reminder to military members: The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) 809.ART.90 (20), makes it clear that military personnel need to obey the "lawful command of his superior officer," 891.ART.91 (2), the "lawful order of a warrant officer", 892.ART.92 (1) the "lawful general order", 892.ART.92 (2) "lawful order". In each case, military personnel have an obligation and a duty to only obey Lawful orders and indeed have an obligation to disobey Unlawful orders, including orders by the president that do not comply with the UCMJ. The moral and legal obligation is to the U.S. Constitution and not to those who would issue unlawful orders, especially if those orders are in direct violation of the Constitution and the UCMJ.
4 comments:
This is a case certainly worth watching. I support Lt. Watada and his legal fight to show the world that the US, and President Bush, is violating US and international law by invading Iraq.
He's a true hero. I dubbed him Patriot of the Month for June. (Article here)
He is a Good Man...he has Integrity...I thought of him last night when Joe Darby was interviewed on Keith...we need more good men...
okay that didn't sound right...what I meant and still mean is if we had more men in leadership rolls stand up to Buscho ( and Rummy) that would help the situation- it should not be up to the ranks to teach the leadership HOW to take a stand- does that make more sense?
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