What if I am in the military in Chicago or Portland and receive an order to shoot a civilian protester in the legs, who is throwing rocks at my unit? Or what if I receive an order to sink a boat and its passengers; one that is presumed to be carrying illegal drugs to the U.S.?

The issue of whether to obey illegal orders received the attention of Marines stationed in the Pacific (I was in Okinawa) after the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam and after the 1970 Kent State shooting of protesting students by the National Guard.

It was then and is now clear that an individual in the military should not obey an illegal order. But that may be easier said than done, given the complex situations that may arise when our troops are deployed to U.S. cities, or patrolling the open seas.

Are the desire

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