Question: Why are the branches of the US armed forces following Trump’s orders regarding the Iran war?

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They spent the last year getting rid of everyone that would say no.

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A coodahtay.

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It has been long enough for a lot of people to forget what happened to the last crowd who was “just following orders”

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What happened? De-nazification is a myth so you obviously aren’t talking about that.

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Punishing nazis wasn’t thorough enough and like cockroaches they laid eggs in the cabinet. The eggs have hatched and we have an infestation now.

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I think they mean a lot of the people in the US military are saying “just following orders” basically.

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Uh, isn’t the whole point of being in the military to follow orders?

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Not necessarily. That’s why “Just following orders” isn’t a defense for committing war crimes. It’s actually straight up part of the UCMJ that soldiers are obligated to disobey illegal orders.

The problem is that in practice it’s a little murky because “I think that order is illegal” isn’t an immediate Get Out of Court Martial Free Card. It’s a defense you have to bring when you get in trouble for disobeying orders.

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That, too. They might not be nazis but it’s the same playbook.

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What, get pardoned in mass and given government jobs?

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Trump didn’t get congressional approval prior to doing this.

He doesn’t need to do so. Historically, the President has a free hand.

Subsequent to the War Powers Resolution:

The War Powers Resolution requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without congressional authorization for use of military force (AUMF) or a declaration of war by the United States.

As long as he doesn’t cross that line, he’s good. I believe that he hasn’t crossed that line, so…shrugs

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The Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF; Pub. L. 107–40 (text) (PDF), 115 Stat. 224) is a joint resolution of the United States Congress which became law on September 18, 2001, authorizing the use of the United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the September 11 attacks. The authorization granted the president the authority to use all “necessary and appropriate force” against those whom he determined “planned, authorized, committed or aided” the September 11 attacks, or who harbored said persons or groups. The act has been identified by historians and other scholars as having enabled the War on Terror, allowing the US president to unilaterally launch military operations across the world without any congressional oversight or transparency for more than two decades. Between 2001 and 2026, US forces initiated what it labelled “counter-terror” activities in more than 100 countries. Of these, the 2001 AUMF has been used to launch classified military campaigns in at least 22 countries,[1][2] most notably in Afghanistan, the Philippines, Georgia, Yemen, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iraq, and Somalia.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_of_2001

It’s probably technically legal, is the problem.

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I’m not in the military, but I imagine its a pretty difficult step to take to actually defy orders. Firstly, you probably don’t typically know the strategic vision of the higher ups, and entrust them to be righteous. You’ve been trained and indoctrinated to be obedient. Your entire support system, possibly all of your friends and family, are backing up the administration. If you do defy orders, you’ll potentially lose your position and everything you’ve worked for, be ostracized, and have nowhere to go.

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Because despite liberal posturing the armed forces are willing forces of imperialism and the idea that they will disobey “illegal orders” is lacking in evidence and the opposite is so much more likely.

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