Chronicle Editorial: A message to all active service members of the military from Croton-on-Hudson and their families.
You have the right to disobey an illegal order, although doing so can be risky. Under international law, you have the obligation to do it (rejection of the Nuremberg defense.)
President Donald Trump appears on the verge of issuing yet more orders to our Armed Forces that conflict with both international law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ.)
Active members of the U.S. military are not obligated to obey illegal orders, and actually have both a moral and legal duty under international law not to obey them (rejection of the “Nuremberg defense” during the post-WWII trials.)
For more information, here are some relevant links:
FAQ on Refusing Illegal Orders
Explainer: Can military members refuse orders?
For background on the “Nuremberg defense:”
How a Nazi trial ended the just-following-orders defense for US troops
Training the Defense of Superior Orders
How the Nazi’s defense of ‘just following orders’ plays out in the mind
If any Croton-based service members or their families are struggling with this issue, please feel free to get in touch with the Chronicle at TheCrotonChronicle@gmail.com
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Thank you from the bottom of my patriotic heart. Your stepping forward with this statement is a brave and needed act which may help awaken others in this time of peak national (and international) peril.
May all who cherish our Constitution, equal justice , and the rule of law awaken!
Thank you for this courageous-and necessary-editorial.