“What if a soldier in Iraq says that ordering him there is illegal because there never was a formal declaration of war? Are you going to be so quick to jump to his defense and allow him to decide what is a lawful order and what is not? Or are you going to depend on the military brass to make that decision?”
This is the crux of the debate. Can a US citizen be compelled to be under the leadership of a foreign government?
Apparently a position New didn't believe in.
I would not serve under a foreign country and its leadership since I am not a citizen of that country.
When I was in the Navy in the early 80's my destroyer was assigned to a tour with STANAVFORLANT, a NATO multinational command. Our commodore at the time was a Dutch officer. We took operational orders from him. I suppose you would have refused to do so?
This is the crux of the debate. Can a US citizen be compelled to be under the leadership of a foreign government?
No, the crux of the matter is whether a U.S. soldier can be compelled to obey the lawful orders of his superiors. New believed the order wasn't lawful. New was wrong. New paid the price for his error. One might admire him for having the courage of his convictions if not for the fact that he's done nothing but whine about it for the past 10 years.