One more chapter in the Age of Incoherence. There is apparently controversy about the legality of the US military killing civilians of foreign countries who are on boats, or survivors clinging to the wreckage of boats blown out of the water by the Trump Department of War [sic]. Six former service members, now in Congress, made a video reminding active service military and intelligence personnel of their duty to disobey unlawful orders. They were immediately threatened by Mr. Trump, who has never been more sane or measured — prosecution for sedition and execution!

Maximum lethality, baby. We are the department of death, destruction and faithful devotion to our savior, Jesus of Nazareth.

First of all, according to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, ordering the killing of survivors of an illegal drone attack in international waters, ordering an admiral to “kill them all”, is presumed to be a totally legal order, entitled to the strong presumption of legality, if done by the Department of War. The real problem Secretary of War [sic] Pete Hegseth faces is the stream of seditious leakers who make these legal orders public. These traitorous leakers will be found by the most transparent administration in history, and they will be secretly tried and executed for treason, presumably.

Secretary Hegseth posted a reminder to troops that orders from superiors are presumed legal and disobeying orders presumed legal is a crime punishable by court martial and what Senator Mark Kelly is facing from the newly lethal Department of War. I couldn’t find that post anywhere, though it appeared in a news feed on my phone this morning. I was too slow to do a screen shot…

There’s also the small matter of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

U.S. service members take an oath to uphold the Constitution. In addition, under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the U.S. Manual for Courts-Martial, service members must obey lawful orders and disobey unlawful orders. Unlawful orders are those that clearly violate the U.S. Constitution, international human rights standards or the Geneva Conventions.

Service members who follow an illegal order can be held liable and court-martialed or subject to prosecution by international tribunals. Following orders from a superior is no defense.  source

This will have to stand in for the latest example of Secretary Pete’s wise, sober and inspiring leadership via X, a repost from the man who made him Secretary of WAR [1]. But first, here’s what Mr. Trump himself posted about the military taking an oath to the Constitution and not a dictator on day one.

[1]