Pentagon confirms Trump and Hegseth made the call on the boat strikes

[flashman13]

64. None of this alters the fact that it was an illegal order. The commander in the field was obligated to say no.

They could have court marshaled that commander, but I doubt that they would. Why? Because the court would have to establish what order was refused. The commander's defense would have shown that the order was illegal under a number of different laws and regulations and why the commander was obligated not to carry out the order. Next question, who issued the illegal order ? The finger would have pointed straight up the chain of command to Hogsbreath and Trump. It's going to arrive at their doorstep now anyway.

It is a little known fact, but there really were a significant number of German soldiers that refused to commit murder or carry out other illegal orders. None of them were ever court marshaled. Why? Because the court would have had to establish what order was illegal. Theoretically the German army was governed by the Geneva Conventions which prohibits murder. No one in the chain of command would have wanted to be fingered for issuing a criminal order. Deniability was a big thing for them. As the war ground on and loss looked more inevitable, commanders didn't want to risk prosecution. Even the upper echelons of the SS tried to cover up their crimes.

I do believe and hope that this may have embolden field commanders to refuse clearly illegal orders.

These are my thoughts. Feel free to disagree.