Dear Editor,

“Our laws are clear,” said Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a Navy veteran and former astronaut. “You can refuse illegal orders.”

“You must refuse illegal orders,” added Representative Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, who also served in the Navy.

“We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now,” they said. “This administration is pitting our uniform military and intelligence community against American citizens.”

Military in our city streets? Just “shoot them in the leg or something.” What is this? “Gunsmoke?” A John Wayne movie?

I recently discussed the targeting of boats off of Venezuela with a couple. Were they concerned that innocent people might be killed? Even the president mentioned he wouldn’t want to be on a fishing boat in the area. They might get blown up.

The couple had no concern whatsoever. Collateral damage. No big deal. “It’s worth it to keep drugs off of our streets in the U.S.”. Despite the fact that Venezuelan drug boats are taking cocaine to Europe, not fentanyl to the U.S. Anyways, this couple didn’t know anybody on the destroyed boats. And they themselves weren’t in any danger. So what’s the big deal?

But now we have this cadre of legislators that starts talking of disobeying military orders.

What do you think? Would it bother you if you blew up a boat of innocent fishermen? Is an order an order? Would you disobey an order?

Because I remember an incident named the My Lai Massacre, Vietnam. C Company expected to find Viet Cong. They found nothing but civilians.

At least 347 and up to 504 civilians, almost all women, children, and elderly men, were murdered by U.S. Army soldiers from C Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade and B Company, 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the 23rd Division. Some of the women were gang-raped and their bodies mutilated. Some soldiers mutilated and raped children as young as 12.

Captain Medina, who led the initial onslaught, said, “I have regrets for it, but I have no guilt over it because I didn’t cause it. That’s not what the military, particularly the United States Army, is trained for.”

Another said: “‘Well, you know, yeah, but you can’t follow an illegal order.’ Trust me. There is no such thing. Not in the military. If I go into a combat situation and I tell them, ‘No, I’m not going. I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to follow that order’, well, they’d put me up against the wall and shoot me.”

Maybe the military needs to be told about illegal orders. Oh, they did. And now they are traitors.

How about that.

James Spangler, OD

Warren