Pentagon Doubts Ability to Stop 'Illegal Orders' While Funding Alleged War Crimes
According to The Independent, the Pentagon is pondering disciplinary actions against Mark Kelly for a video that, allegedly, discussed soldiers' duty to disobey illegal orders. It appears the Department of Defense is far more adept at navigating the legal ambiguities of internal conduct than it is at, say, applying international law to the recipients of its multi-billion dollar aid packages. Is
questioning orders a greater crime than the orders themselves, when those orders facilitate alleged war crimes? The irony writes itself. While the Pentagon wrings its hands over a video, it consistently greenlights the sale and transfer of weapons to allies like Netanyahu's government, even as the ICJ investigates allegations of genocide involving those very weapons. Last year alone, the U.S.
approved over $14 billion in aid to Israel, including thousands of 2,000-pound bombs that have devastated Gaza. Perhaps the Pentagon should consult those 'legal experts' on how to enforce international law on its weapons recipients, instead of just on its own personnel discussing lawful disobedience.