Actuall, American troops have been used against it's own citizens. Many of you may not remember but back on May 4, 1970, the National Guard was used
to fire upon students at kent State University who were protesting the bombing of Cambodia. There were also rumours that Kent State was also testing
chemical weapons. Here is a link to an article on it.
America Kills Its Children
Even before then, Shortly after we became a country in 1869 American trops were called up to again fire upon Americans when the US decided to tax
homemade brew
The Whiskey War.
Let's not forget the Civil War.
So yes, the US military have been called upon to take action against it's citizens. Once you have sworn your oath when entering the military, you are
required to follow the orders of your superiors. If you are given orders that you feel are illegal or immoral, as a member of the military, you voice
this opinion to your superior. You log a complaint to call for an investigation, but in the long run, you follow orders.
A military member who refuses to follow orders can and will be prosecuted as per military law (which is very different from civilian). This is covered
in Article 92 of the
Uniform Code of Military Justice.
This person, is required to follow the legal orders of his superiors. In the case in started this thread, the man after 10 years in the military, saw
the light and found that he could no longer take another's life. This ideal is fantastic and I applaud him for this outlook. I condemn him for how he
took to break his solemn oath to fight / defend our country. He was given an order to go to Iran. This order in one way or another came from the
President. If the order is to be considered illegal, that is something for our legislature and our courts systems to decide not this military member.
If he had an issue with going to Iran, he could have gone the route of "CO" Contiencious Objector. His superiors will take that into consideration
and may have even reassigned him to another post so that he would not have a conflict with his beliefs. To go outside and to use both the civilian
courts and the media, is deplorable and highly dishonorable of bhim to do.
There are steps that he could of / should of used instead of what he has done.