The constant snarky criticism of our armed forces. Everything Tom Cruise and Demi Moore said or did was intended to make our troops look like knuckledragging brutes, and Cruise's only defense was "just following orders." That worked so well at Nuremberg.
Also I just can't stand Tom Cruise, and that was even before the couch-jumping scene.
Demi Moore’s character was constantly defending the Armed Forces and the two accused soldiers. The defense he used was the only they could think of that could get them off. Lawyers do it all the time. The fact that it didn’t work at Nuremberg is mentioned in the film.