Friday, April 27, 2007
The Laws of War
The principle [was] put forward at the Nuremberg trials in 1945-46 that a soldier is not obliged to obey unjust orders, orders that contravene the laws of war. Indeed, one has an obligation to disobey them. The Israeli soldiers who are resisting service in the Occupied Territories are not refusing a particular order. They are refusing to enter the space where illegitimate orders are bound to be given.
--Susan Sontag, On Courage and Resistance, March 2003
Members of the U.S. armed forces are prohibited from speaking out against the war in Iraq. The Uniform Code of Military Justice limits what soldiers may say about political issues. But as opposition to the Iraq war mounts, some service members are finding ways to air their opinions. Some are speaking anonymously while others sign a petition.
"You know this isn't really what we signed up to do. This isn't really what I believe America is about," an Army intelligence officer says, speaking from his base in Iraq. Comments like this would land him in a military prison if he were identified."There's no clearly defined enemy; we're not fighting a military. The insurgents are terrorists. Everybody we're shooting is technically a civilian."
--NPR, April 2007
--Susan Sontag, On Courage and Resistance, March 2003
Members of the U.S. armed forces are prohibited from speaking out against the war in Iraq. The Uniform Code of Military Justice limits what soldiers may say about political issues. But as opposition to the Iraq war mounts, some service members are finding ways to air their opinions. Some are speaking anonymously while others sign a petition.
"You know this isn't really what we signed up to do. This isn't really what I believe America is about," an Army intelligence officer says, speaking from his base in Iraq. Comments like this would land him in a military prison if he were identified."There's no clearly defined enemy; we're not fighting a military. The insurgents are terrorists. Everybody we're shooting is technically a civilian."
--NPR, April 2007
