Veterans for Peace urges soldiers to refuse illegal orders

Veterans For Peace #161 stands with national Veterans For Peace and with the legislators who have reminded us of the need for military personnel to follow only legal orders We understand how difficult this can be, and offer compassion and support for those struggling. It is the duty of the president as commander in chief and the duty of all military officers to not issue illegal orders. We share below the message from the national office of Veterans For Peace.

“Veterans For Peace supports the members of Congress who produced the Don’t Give Up the Ship video to affirm and make clear the right and responsibility of all military service members to refuse illegal orders. We are appalled at the president of the United States’ reaction, calling their statement of fact seditious and punishable by the death penalty. We call on all veterans to stand with these members of Congress and amplify their message so that Airmen, Marines, Seamen, and Army troops know that if they ever face the difficult challenge of refusing an illegal order, they are carrying out their oath to defend the Constitution by following the law.

It is difficult for service members to recognize when they have received an illegal order. The following resources can help. GI Rights Hotline: (877) 447-4487; Center on Conscience and War; Military Law Task Force (910) 323-3912; Quaker House; Do Not Turn On Us.

The need to remind service members of their right and duty to refuse illegal orders arises from actions already taken by the Trump administration. Supporting genocide is always morally wrong. Legal experts widely consider the airstrikes off the coast of Venezuela to be illegal under international and U.S. law, and cities across the nation are fearful and engaged in legal disputes with the administration over the deployment of the military to their communities.

Veterans For Peace calls on all service members to remember their duty to the Constitution, the nation, their communities, and their conscience. When you refuse orders to participate in illegal wars and war crimes, or unconstitutional deployments in the U.S., Veterans For Peace — along with the majority of Americans — will support you.

Bob Mueller, Mount Pleasant