On the first full day of Obama's new presidency, a little more than 24 hours after he stumbled through his oath in office, I have received an urgent call to spread the word that Our Troops should disobey orders. There have been similiar calls from the opposite side of the spectrum for the last 8 years.
Let's be honest here, not too many Veterans and not too many Troops voted for the new CinC. His decision to snub Our Greatest Heroes last night is unlikely to endear the Military and Veterans communities to him. There have been allegations made that he isn't even an American Citizen. A Veteran and Neighbor sends me an message stating that his message in his blog has been hacked and suppressed, erased to be more precise. Luckily, he had maintained a copy of his work which in part asks:
"But, what if the intruder purports to be the president?"
"And, what if the sentry truly believes that the man installed as the president is in that position unlawfully? Which order does he obey -- the standing general order to keep the area secure, or the immediate verbal order of an imposter commander-in-chief? This is a real and legitimate question."
There is no doubt in my mind that Tom knows, understands, and is committed to both the US Constitution and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He quotes it in this passage:
"Rule 916 of the Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM), "Defenses", especially subsections (c) and (d), makes clear that not only should a military member not be charged with a UCMJ offense for not obeying an unlawful order, but also that said military member does, indeed, have an "affirmative duty" to disobey an order that he knows -- or, "that a person of ordinary sense and understanding would have known" -- to be unlawful. The commentary of Rule 916 also cites Rule 801(e), stating that the question of whether the person giving the order was in a lawful position to give said order becomes an interlocutory question."
For the last eight years, groups such as the IVAW have used similiar arguments to call for the Mutiny of the Military against the orders of Officers and CinC they have sworn to obey. While I support the right earned by Tom to the First Amendment, I cannot support his call for disobediance. The case Tom makes rests on two things: 1)an allegation that Obama is not a Natural Born Citizen and 2)a belief in the validity of the argument by Servicemembers.
I've seen the arguments on whether or not Obama is a Natural Born Citizen or not. I hope that those arguments will be heard by the appropriate authorities and resolved with finality. Neither I nor any member of the US Armed Forces from E-1 through O-10 is that appropriate authority. It does not matter that neither Joe Soldier nor I voted for the current CinC.
It does not matter if
I'm sure Tom and every other Veteran has during their career had a Commanding Officer they didn't care for, perhaps even one that they down right despised. Good order and discipline dictate that the lawful orders were obeyed, regardless of personal or professional opinion about that Commander. An order does not become unlawful based on the qualifications of the officer to be in command. An order becomes unlawful if it breaks the law.
If Obama were to order Troops to fire on a peaceful protest, that would be unlawful and dictate disobediance of the Troops from General down to Private. If Obama orders a full retreat from Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and Europe, that would be ignorant and stupid but lawful and our Troops would be obliged to obey. If Obama is at some point proven to be an unlawful holder of the office, it does not make any of his orders prior to that point unlawful, no matter how naive, ignorant or stupid they may have been. But if that does one day occur, it means that he will no longer have authority to issue orders and that the authority will pass to Vice-President Biden who will then be charged with Commanding our Troops.
The Politics of Hate have troubled this Nation for two decades. It must end. Those that oppose the current absolute power of The Party must demonstrate greater maturity and greater objectivity than did the partisans who attacked National Interests out of party loyalty for the last 8 years.
Arguments fall into one of several categories, whether from one's own side or from that of the opposition. One category is so outrageous that they bear no attention at all. Another category is so dangerous that they must be confronted immediately. The argument for Military Mutiny is a dangerous argument. I must oppose the argument whether by those of the IVAW or by those that oppose Obama. I don't have to like the Commander nor his policies, but a Soldier has a duty to follow the lawful orders as effectively as possible.
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