In re: Jonathan Kraut, “Are They Saying It’s Illegal to Disobey an Illegal Order?” (Commentary, Dec. 2.)
Mr. Kraut’s was just the most recent but this will apply to ALL people who were not in the military, and unfortunately even to some who were, concerning the United States military chain of command and orders given to subordinates by officers and non-commissioned officers whether in a peaceful or hostile situation.
Under the current hoopla on this topic certain people are stating that military subordinates must refuse to obey “illegal” orders. This is nothing at all new under the terms of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and members of the military, no matter their rank, have always been allowed to refuse to obey an unlawful order, no matter who gave that order.
But here’s where the problem can and in many cases does come into the game; Who decides if the order is unlawful?
Obviously, if a superior-ranked person tells Private Jones to commit an “obvious” crime, Private Jones has the legal right and obligation to refuse to obey that order. The famous incident in the Vietnam War concerning Army officer Lt. William Calley is the perfect example of an illegal order.
But what about orders that are not as clear cut as the Calley incident when it comes to their legality?
Private Jones can still refuse the order, but unless he/she has a law degree (not a real good chance of that) and is 100% sure the order is unlawful, Private Jones is very probably going to be charged with insubordination at the very least and possibly even treason depending upon the circumstances.
I am very aware that our current commander in chief and secretary of defense are not real popular in certain circles, but that’s why we have elections, and like it or not the president was constitutionally elected to that position that includes being the commander in chief of our armed forces, and also as the elected person who appoints the secretary of defense, who is then confirmed by the Congress — which he was.
What was painfully obvious, or should have been to everyone watching the gang that went on TV to tell military people to disobey direct orders, is that they refused when questioned to state exactly what order given by either the president or the secretary of defense or passed down through the ranks was “illegal.”
Bottom line and with the bluntness I am known for, I would respectfully suggest that Mr. Kraut and others of like mind need to find a different topic to get all fired up over if they don’t even have the decency or intelligence to do even basic research of the topic they are purporting to know so much about.
Rick Barker
Valencia
