Orders From On High Obeyed by Military!
by Gary D. Barnett
Recently by Gary D. Barnett: Aggressive War and Terrorism Are One and the Same! So Who Are the Real Terrorists?
Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.
~ Smedley Butler, Major General USMC
Is there any order given to U.S. military personnel that is not obeyed? Is there anyone that the U.S. military won’t kill (murder) when given an order? Is there any order that any in the U.S. military thinks is unconstitutional, considering that all in the military have taken an oath to uphold that set of rules? Will there ever be an order that U.S. troops will disobey? As far as I can tell, the answer to all these questions is no!
There has been a lot of talk lately about the war against Libya being unconstitutional, but one has to wonder why these questions are coming now? It certainly isn’t due to any sudden moral awakening by the politicians or most of their constituents, because every single war since WWII has been unconstitutional. And in my opinion, every single war since the Revolution has been completely unjust and unnecessary. If I am correct in my opinion, that means that every order to kill, maim, occupy, and destroy those in other lands obeyed by American forces has been not only unconstitutional but also immoral.
This blind following of orders by all U.S. military forces scares the living daylights out of me. Am I alone in this thinking, or do others in this country understand the implications of this policy? What if there is civil unrest here at home? What if due to the destruction of our economy by our own government, American citizens take to the streets as is happening now in Africa and the Middle East? Does anyone honestly believe that U.S. troops given orders to shoot to kill their own countrymen won’t do so? Believing that it would be different if it happened on our own soil would be a fool’s game.
Given the buildup and militarization of police, the expanded powers of the Department of Homeland Security, and the domestic deployment of federal troops via the Army service component of NORTHCOM, plans are already in the works for military control of U.S. citizens. In my opinion, any orders given by military leaders to fire on Americans would be followed just as all other orders are followed. There would probably be more dissent than is now present, but there would be plenty willing to do the bidding of their masters. Considering that they are now willing, and have been in the past, (remember Vietnam) to murder, rape, and mutilate women and children, why would any think they aren’t capable of gunning down American dissenters?
The United States is currently in three unconstitutional and unholy wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. U.S. troops are also causing havoc and killing innocents in several other countries as well, and threatening even more. But are any orders being ignored or disobeyed? Of course not! Not only are these gruesome orders to war against those who have never harmed us being followed, but they are being followed with gusto. Just consider recent reports of cold-blooded murder and mutilations of innocent Afghans by U.S. troops who are called "kill squads." These aren’t the only atrocities being committed by U.S. soldiers, just the latest in a brutal string of events that are seemingly never-ending.
Acts of terrorism perpetrated against other countries by the U.S. military and its willing and parasitic order takers in uniform are being spread like wildfire, and the orders keep coming and the killing continues. Just today this story titled "Lejeune Marines prepare to deploy off Libyan coast" appeared out of North Carolina. Camp Lejeune Marines were given orders to go to Libya, and they accepted those orders with pride, and offered no questions as to the justness of the cause.
The wife of Sergeant Lewis Cochran, a Marine being deployed to Libya, said she "is confident her Marine is prepared for the mission." Sgt. Cochran said, "Whatever the president decides, he’s ready. My Marines, all the Marines the whole PLT is ready to go." This kind of statement and sentiment of course is common, and is telling of the mindset of those willing to do anything they are told to do regardless of the moral implications. This willing behavior is pathetic in nature, and serves no purpose other than to help those in power advance their wickedness. This literally sickens me! I believe exactly as did Herbert Spencer when he said:
"When men hire themselves out to shoot other men to order, asking nothing about the justice of their cause, I don’t care if they are shot themselves."
The bottom line is depressing. We now live in a country where wars of aggression, occupation, torture, and murder against those who never attacked or harmed us is common. These wars are now started on the say so of one man, and those under his command follow his orders to the letter. These orders are unquestioned by not only the officers in the military and their vassals in uniform, but by the congress and by most Americans. How could we have arrived at such a depraved state of existence? How can most of our society stand by and watch the slaughter of millions of innocent people; these acts of horror done in their name?
Many who commit horrible deeds have excused these acts by simply saying, "I was just following orders." This is an empty excuse, and has been used in the past to give cover for some of the most heinous crimes of mankind. Most of those crimes were carried out in the name of war, and those willing to prosecute those unjust wars are just as responsible as those who start them. Guilty all those who purposely participate in these heinous crimes against mankind, every damn one of you!
March 31, 2011
Gary D. Barnett [send him mail] is president of Barnett Financial Services, Inc., in Lewistown, Montana.
Copyright © 2011 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.
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