L.J. Schaffnit: Obeying illegal orders is not some seditious conspiracy

To the Daily Sun,

Not obeying illegal and unconstitutional orders is not "seditious conspiracy"; conspiring to desecrate our Constitution and the rule of law with a treasonous attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election is.

At the risk of being accused of being woke by conservative contributors, I remind, and for many, introduce the My Lai, Vietnam, massacre of 1968. Over 500 individuals, mostly women, children and elderly were murdered by U.S. Army soldiers. The incident was the largest massacre of civilians by U.S. forces in the 20th century; a crime I'm sure the conservative community would like us to forget. As a direct result of their commitment to prevent another My Lai, the military developed an "ethic" which emphasizes that soldiers must see themselves as "honorable servants of the Nation and that they must "reject and report illegal, unethical or immoral orders and actions" ― they are legally required to disobey "unlawful" orders. An order is considered "unlawful" if it violates the U.S. Constitution, U.S. law, or international law, such as targeting civilians or committing torture. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) explicitly requires service members to disobey orders that are clearly illegal. Service members can be prosecuted for following orders they know or should have known to be "unlawful."

I find it rather prophetic, that after accusing Democratic congressional members of sedition for suggesting the military not obey "illegal" orders, that Donald Trump's secretary of defense is being investigated by the Armed Services Committee for allegedly issuing an illegal order which called for a "second strike" on a suspected drug boat, after the first strike left two survivors clinging to the incapacitated craft.

L.J. Schaffnit

Gilmanton