So, what you are saying, in effect, is that the military should follow orders blindly, as they did in the German army in WWII, regardless of the legality or the harm the orders do to the military. Over and above what the Officer owes to the CIC is what he owes to his troops. He should have spoken directly to the President and if that failed then he has every right nay, a duty, to speak out openly against the President against what he sees as harmful orders and policies. He will most likely lose his job in doing so but the people will be warned.
BTW, I think McA should have gone ahead and bombed the crap out of North Korea and the Chinese troops screaming down towards the south as he proposed. Truman was wrong, as history has well proven. Korea's cease fire is the reason we had to fight in Vietnam.
The military should follow all legal orders of the President. Period. Except for some demented leftists, I don't think anybody's arguing that Obama's military strategy in Afghanistan is illegal -- just dangerous and counterproductive.
If an Officer believes an order is ruinous, then he should resign his Commission and state so publicly. But insubordination or mutiny means the end of the Republic.
BTW, I think McA should have gone ahead and bombed the crap out of North Korea and the Chinese troops screaming down towards the south as he proposed. Truman was wrong, as history has well proven.
So in other words, you think the Army should run the country. Not only does that violate the Constitution, but it's a really bad long term decision. Abraham Lincoln made plenty of terrible military decisions, but I think we're far better off today than if the Army of the Potomac had gone rogue and taken over.