The order to Lakin came from Colonel Roberts. It is that order that Lakin is charged with disobeying, not that of Gates or Obama or anyone else in the chain of command. It is that order that Lakin has to show is unlawful. The originating individual is irrelevant. As I have said on many occasions, Obama could be exposed and removed from office tomorrow, and Lakin would still be guilty of missing movement and of disobeying the order of his brigade commander. Any satisfaction Lakin may get from seeing Obama exposed and removed from office may not outweigh the cost of the court martial conviction, the cashiering, and the possible prison time.
My personal feelings are that Watada should be in Ft Leavenworth doing hard time, making big rocks into little rocks.
Why? Where is his position any different from Lakin's According to him the war was illegal. According to you he is within his rights to question the legitimacy of his orders on those grounds and to have his questions answered before having to obey the orders he believed were unlawful. It is hypocritical of you to take any position other than full blown support of Watada and complete approval of Obama's actions at quashing the appeal.
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The order to Lakin came from Colonel Roberts. It is that order that Lakin is charged with disobeying, not that of Gates or Obama or anyone else in the chain of command. It is that order that Lakin has to show is unlawful. Not true. The Chain of Command, from TOP to bottom, is the SINGLE MOST important part of military discipline. If it's in doubt, the system breaks down. IF Col Robert's or HIS commander's “Eligibility” to hold his position was in doubt, Lakin would have a similar conundrum. The difference is that Obama’s Eligibility is unique in ALL of the Chain of Command — Obama MUST be a natural-born citizen. NO OTHER OFFICE IN GOVERNMENT HAS THIS UNIQUE REQUIREMENT. The originating individual is irrelevant. If it were that irrelevant, there would NOT be a trial, would there? The facts are self-evident, but there ARE extenuating circumstances, are there not? As I have said on many occasions, Obama could be exposed and removed from office tomorrow, and Lakin would still be guilty of missing movement and of disobeying the order of his brigade commander. Any satisfaction Lakin may get from seeing Obama exposed and removed from office may not outweigh the cost of the court martial conviction, the cashiering, and the possible prison time. Lakin is “guilty” now, but again, there ARE extenuating circumstances. But you bring up an important point. Do you agree with the following hierarchy for Lakin (and all Army officers) to follow?
US Constitution Oath of Office Code of Conduct UCMJ - US Code Army Regulations International Law Foreign Laws of Host Nations Why or why not? Why? Where is his position any different from Lakin’s According to him the war was illegal. According to you he is within his rights to question the legitimacy of his orders on those grounds and to have his questions answered before having to obey the orders he believed were unlawful. It is hypocritical of you to take any position other than full blown support of Watada and complete approval of Obama’s actions at quashing the appeal. I do NOT agree with Watada’s rationale. But I DO agree with his OBLIGATION to question orders he may feel are Illegitimate. The atrocities of the Vietnam War gives us many examples of why we DON'T want our Officers to BLINDLY follow orders. However, Watada was more concerned about saving his own miserable ass if HE would be guilty of War Crimes under Bush. His public words lead to the additional Conduct Unbecoming an Officer charges brought by the US Army, which is why the Left CHEERED him on. Lakin specifically questions Obama’s Eligibility under Art II, § 1, Clause 5. Furthermore, Lakin questions the CinC's qualifications in a respectful tone. I'm not aware of ANY other case that has been brought to full Court Martial in US history for such a reason that has gone this far. That's what makes Lakin's case UNIQUE, too ... that is, until OTHER Officers join him in questioning the CinC's Eligibility. |