Letters to the Editor: Do military leaders have an obligation to defy illegal orders? It’s complicated

To the editor: Will military leaders stand up against illegal orders? It’s a conundrum involving several difficult considerations, each problematic and each belonging to a different category of concern (“Do our military leaders have the backbone to disobey illegal orders?,” Nov. 17). We are a nation governed by laws, and punishment can come only after a fair trial. The killing of potential drug dealers does not meet that criterion. Yet, in this case, is it reasonable to assume that such a trial could not take place in a timely manner to protect our security?

Orders given to the military should be clear, legal and perceived as moral by those charged with executing them. But would we have a viable military if every soldier acted according to a personal moral compass or, as the author suggests, decided to “challenge the system”?

Our own individual worldviews — shaped by experience, ethics and, ultimately, our instincts for survival (in this case, the survival of the nation) — guide us when faced with multilayered and critical decisions. It is not scientific, nor necessarily right, nor guaranteed to produce good results.

The high-minded and well-articulated op-ed is nevertheless misguided. Personally, I cannot believe that anyone sane (except perhaps a motivated drug trafficker) would gratuitously travel in a small boat in the area at such a time. Moreover, I feel that the immense damage done to our society by drugs outweighs, in this instance, the questionable nature of our actions.

Jack Kaczorowski, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Do not just read guest contributor Jon Duffy’s extremely well-written commentary on how military leaders swore an “oath to defend the Constitution, not to obey a man.” This op-ed should actually be studied. If we worry about the future of our country, everything he says here is important.

H. Yates Satterlee, Santa Barbara

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To the editor: I say this as a retired intelligence analyst who, in 1972 in Pleiku, Vietnam, targeted the B-52 bombings in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam: You cannot expect your military to do the job the American people should do at the polls.

These are career employees of our politicians; they are not our moral guides. We as a people decide who will lead us and to what end. President Trump has insisted on calling the Department of Defense the Department of War — so be it. If we as a nation have a moral responsibility, it will have to be reflected in who we elect.

Earl Adams, Granada Hills

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To the editor: Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been charged by the International Criminal Court with three counts of crimes against humanity for his campaign against suspected drug dealers that prosecutors say led to thousands of deaths. He is currently in ICC custody in The Hague, Netherlands.

Since early September, the U.S. military has conducted 21 strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least 83 people.

The Obama White House explicitly condemned Duterte’s extrajudicial killings, whereas Trump repeatedly praised Duterte for doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem.”

When can we expect Trump to be extradited to The Hague to join Duterte in ICC detention?

Bob Lentz, Sylmar

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To the editor: Duffy’s op-ed paints a dark and painful picture of our military leaders. If questioned, these leaders may well say they were just following orders. However, as the Nuremberg trials showed, the principle of “just following orders” is not a valid defense, be it wartime or peace.

Military leaders must learn from the Nazis of the consequences of just following the orders of a tyrant.

Steve Saeta, Santa Rosa Valley

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To the editor: The military’s grant of immunity for the Venezuelan killings makes me shudder at the thought of how they might react when Trump asks for the nuclear codes.

Ann Weinman, Los Angeles