US War Crimes and the Legal Case for Military Resistance
Excerpt---
American commanders promote a widespread misconception that, once American youth sign an enlistment contract, they are obligated to participate in any kind of war, whether it is based on fraud or truth, whether it is a preemptive invasion or a genuine war of self-defense. In a "voluntary military," Rumsfeld said at a recent press conference, soldiers have no right to complain.
That's preposterous. No soldier owes absolute allegiance to any military system. The prevailing doctrine of blind obedience is a fascist, not a democratic, doctrine of military service. Of course all military systems require discipline, and all operate through a chain of command. But the legal authority of command depends on adherence to the rule of law. As sailor Pablo Paredes noted recently, the U.S. Military Code of Justice says that, while soldiers are obligated to obey all legal orders, the same soldiers have a right, even a duty, to disobey illegal orders. That is the essence of the legal case for military resistance.
Once unrestrained leaders, in their lust for power and world domination, place our military system beyond domestic and international law, the obligation of soldiers to serve the military in its state of lawlessness is dissolved. Long ago Thomas Jefferson captured the spirit of legal resistance when he wrote: "Whensoever the general Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force."
A Broken Covenant
It is the U.S. government, not war-resisters, that violate the covenant between soldier and the state. The ways in which the government betrays its promise to our troops are manifold.
First there is no formal declaration of war from Congress, as required by the Constitution. That may seem like a small matter. But James Madison made it clear: the legal power of military command depends on a declaration in accordance with all laws. Nor does Congress have any authority to efface the separation of powers, to transfer its solemn lawmaking obligation to the Executive branch. In the Constitution, war falls under lawmaking, not foreign policy.
Continues...
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/050405C.shtml
American commanders promote a widespread misconception that, once American youth sign an enlistment contract, they are obligated to participate in any kind of war, whether it is based on fraud or truth, whether it is a preemptive invasion or a genuine war of self-defense. In a "voluntary military," Rumsfeld said at a recent press conference, soldiers have no right to complain.
That's preposterous. No soldier owes absolute allegiance to any military system. The prevailing doctrine of blind obedience is a fascist, not a democratic, doctrine of military service. Of course all military systems require discipline, and all operate through a chain of command. But the legal authority of command depends on adherence to the rule of law. As sailor Pablo Paredes noted recently, the U.S. Military Code of Justice says that, while soldiers are obligated to obey all legal orders, the same soldiers have a right, even a duty, to disobey illegal orders. That is the essence of the legal case for military resistance.
Once unrestrained leaders, in their lust for power and world domination, place our military system beyond domestic and international law, the obligation of soldiers to serve the military in its state of lawlessness is dissolved. Long ago Thomas Jefferson captured the spirit of legal resistance when he wrote: "Whensoever the general Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force."
A Broken Covenant
It is the U.S. government, not war-resisters, that violate the covenant between soldier and the state. The ways in which the government betrays its promise to our troops are manifold.
First there is no formal declaration of war from Congress, as required by the Constitution. That may seem like a small matter. But James Madison made it clear: the legal power of military command depends on a declaration in accordance with all laws. Nor does Congress have any authority to efface the separation of powers, to transfer its solemn lawmaking obligation to the Executive branch. In the Constitution, war falls under lawmaking, not foreign policy.
Continues...
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/050405C.shtml
posted by Christy at 9:37 PM
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