To hold soldiers guilty of fighting an unjust war requires that soldiers be allowed to decide on the justness of a war. No nation can allow that. It would mean allowing an army to start a war, because it thought the war was just, even though the civilian leadership thought the war was unjust. That's simply the mirror image of an army refusing to fight a war even though the civilian leadership thinks the war is just.
Writers on Just War have long held that soldiers cannot be punished for the crimes of their leaders, including fighting in an unjust war. They can be punished only for waging war unjustly. Moreover, they can be punished for waging war unjustly even if the war itself is just.
As for his crack about soldiers obeying Hitler's orders, no Nazi soldier was ever punished for fighting in an unjust war. Some were punished for waging war unjustly. This guy is appallingly ignorant of history.
"As for his crack about soldiers obeying Hitler's orders, no Nazi soldier was ever punished for fighting in an unjust war. Some were punished for waging war unjustly. This guy is appallingly ignorant of history."
Well said.
"This guy (and Watada, for that matter) couldn't be more wrong."
My personal feeling is he's just an effin' C-O-W-A-R-D who was happy to take bucks from the DOD until he was required to EARN them.