Just Say No

From DW-World.DE:

A German court ruled Wednesday that a soldier, who refused to follow orders because he did not want to support the US-led war in Iraq, had every right to do so.

Judges at Germany's Federal Administrative Court said that members of the military could not be forced to comply with orders that go against their conscience.

The court added that the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of conscience also applied to soldiers in active service.

"The court found that the fundamental right to freedom of conscience ... cannot be superseded by an order," it said in a statement summarizing the ruling. "This order was thus invalid for the soldier. The soldier gave a credible account of the seriousness of his moral decision."

The case in question began in April 2003, when the 48-year-old soldier, who was not named, refused to continue working on the development of a software program after his superiors were unable to guarantee that it would not be used to support the US-led war in Iraq.

The soldier argued that he could not finish the work as he considered the war to be unconstitutional and a violation of international law.

...a military court [had] demoted the man from the rank of major to captain in February 2004. The soldier appealed the decision, as did the lawyer for the military, where officials wanted the man's complete removal from the service.

But the appellate court judges now said members of the military have to adhere to German laws and cannot set aside basic rights guaranteed to everyone. They reinstated his rank of major, noting that his right to reject an order applied even if he had not filed a formal conscientious objector application.

German law offers strong protections for soldiers who refuse to follow orders on ethical grounds, rooted in the abuses of the Nazi past.

Believe it or not, America and the UK have the same law. It is enshrined by their written agreement to apply International Law to their own servicemen. The US and the UK held and accepted during the Nuremberg Trials that "I was just obeying orders" is not a defense against committing illegal acts in time of war. German troops receive extensive training on this during basic, US troops do not. By seeking prosecutions of servicemen who object to their being party to what they see as an illegal war, the US military and the Bush administration are breaking that covenant with other nations and with their own servicemen.

Servicemen have the right to "just say no" and to deny that right is another immoral step on the slippery slope of lies, torture and imperial adventurism.