“I’ve spent forty years training as a soldier and as a commander,” Hertling said on MS Now. “When you’re an officer in the United States Army, you are loyal to a few important things. You are mainly loyal to the Constitution. You are also loyal to your superiors if they give you lawful orders.”
If Trump moves forward with his threat to bomb civilian buildings like power plants and bridges or follows through on his statement that “a whole civilization will die tonight,” those would be the most illegal orders you can imagine.
If he, as he seems to be suggesting, launches a nuclear attack on Iran, it would be the worst crime in human history. Every member of the U.S. military would be morally required to refuse such orders.
“When they start giving illegal orders, you find a way to stop them and to make sure they change their mind,” said Hertling.
“But you also have to be loyal to the soldiers that you are leading. These three loyalties can sometimes be at odds with each other.”
“So I’m sure there are many military commanders right now, many senior officers, who are thinking to themselves, ‘I can’t follow an illegal order,'” said Hertling. “
I can’t do things that I know are completely wrong.”
It’s important to note that Hertling is no small person.
He once served as the Commanding General of the United States Army Europe and the Seventh Army. His solid record speaks for itself and adds great weight to his comments.
“But they also feel they have to support their soldiers who can’t just walk away,” he continued.
“They have to stay in the military and might have to deal with a big rebellion in all of these matters. So senior military leaders are in a tough spot because they know they can’t carry out some of the things the president wants them to do.”
“They have a Secretary of Defense who has repeatedly said that being powerful is better than following the law or something like that,” said Hertling. “
This is causing a lot of conflict among those who are trying to be fair soldiers, asking, ‘How can I still serve my Constitution and follow the laws while carrying out these actions that are really immoral and illegal.'”
This is the position that our very bad president has put our brave service members in.
They are caught between their duty to follow their commander-in-chief and the knowledge that he has shown himself to be a person who wants to destroy lives and is suffering from dementia. They must support the Constitution, the American people, and the world by refusing any unlawful orders that Trump might give. The future of our planet depends on it.
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