September 21, 2004
Quote Of The Moment #0074
I feel that if a soldier is given an order that he knows to not only be illegal, but immoral as well, then it his responsibility to refuse that order. ... If you were given an order to participate in an unlawful occupation that is resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent people with no justifiable cause, would you be able to live with yourself if you carried out that order? -- Brandon Hughey, U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division
Posted by Eddie Tews at September 21, 2004 04:32 PM
Comments
It's sobering to realize that from the time where Israeli self-defense turned to occupation many years ago, that it wasn't until now that some very intelligent (and brave) Israeli soldiers have started to take that stance and reject it as immoral. It's a slow process, and I'm not looking forward to it... -- Posted by: thehim on September 21, 2004 06:57 PM
Actually, I should reword that. :)
I am looking forward to it, I'm just not confident it will happen quickly, if my insane rambling has made any sense... -- Posted by: thehim on September 21, 2004 06:58 PM
Hughey does a great job there of channeling Thoreau. He should be admired for having the courage to stand up in a hostile environment and face what will assuredly be extreme consequences.
However, as the son of a Vet and the older brother of a 26 year old Iraq War vet, I was brought up with a different take on this.
In a nutshell, I believe that we have to know and trust that the guys with the guns will follow orders - especially the orders given by an elected civilian government. Moreover, as civilians we need to make sure that those giving the orders are giving the right ones.
Why?
Because it's much easier to change leaders than to try and rebuild a society where the military, para-military or secret police has become factionalized and is independently pursuing its own agenda. -- Posted by: Dr_hiller on September 22, 2004 10:42 AM