GI Resistance
by Larry Kerschner
There is a saying that “Hitler’s arms were only three feet long.” The same can be said of any war or act of government violence … can only happen with the actions and agreement of those who are part of the government machine. Soldiers kill others. Presidents usually do not directly kill others. There would be no war if the soldiers did not kill. This seems simplistic but most things that are true are ultimately simple.
The military likes to pretend that, especially in a “volunteer” military, troops are obligated to participate in any “war” they are sent to. This begs the question of what a “war” is. In the United States the legal war authority for the military depends solely on a declaration of war by Congress. Congress cannot transfer that war making authority to the Executive Branch. Under Article VI of the U.S. Constitution “all treaties made under the authority of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby.”
Several of those treaties are the Nuremberg Conventions, the Geneva Conventions, and the U.N. Charter. Under the U.N. Charter outside of genuine self-defense all war is illegal aggression. Under the Geneva Conventions the bombing of hospitals and the forcible transfer of populations from their homes as we have done in Fallujah, mass roundup and imprisonment of non-combatants, destruction of food crops, use of weapons such as cluster bombs which are indiscriminate in the death and suffering they cause, the use of economic sanctions after it is clear that they are causing unnecessary suffering and death, torture of prisoners, “dead-checking” in which disabled prisoners are shot, and “rendition” which is torture by proxy are all illegal war crimes.
There is a history of resistance to these types of illegal acts within the U.S. Military. Until 1968 the desertion rate for U.S. troops in Vietnam was lower than in previous wars but by 1969 it had increased fourfold. By 1970, the U.S. Army had 65,643 deserters Between 1997 and 2004, according to Department of Defense records, over 50,000 members of the U.S. military were classified as deserters. Vast numbers of Viet Nam-era service people participated in minor acts of sabotage and destruction. Among front line troops opposition to the war was commonly seen in efforts to avoid combat.
On August 24, 1969, Alpha Company of the 3d Battalion/196thInfantry, the sixty men who remained after five days of battle with many casualties, refused direct orders to return to combat. During the last portion of the Viet Nam war there were at least ten similar incidents of mutiny One of the little discussed, but important, factors in the end of the American War in Vietnam was the refusal of troops to follow illegal or stupid orders. Congressional hearings in 1973 found that three percent of officer and non-com deaths between 1961 and 1972 were a result of fragging. Disaffection among the troops, including fragging, led to instances in which commanders, afraid of their own troops, felt that enlisted men should not have access to weapons.
Sabotage of equipment became another tactic of resistance among the troops. On May 26, 1970, the USS Anderson was preparing to go to Vietnam from San Diego. A major breakdown occurred after someone dropped nuts, bolts and chains down the main gear shaft. In July of 1972, two of the Navy’s aircraft carriers were put out of commission by sabotage. A fire on the USS Forestal caused $7 million in damage delaying deployment for months. Several 12-inch bolts inserted into engine reduction gears forced three month delay of the deployment of the USS Ranger.
There is a common misconception that the resistance during the Viet Nam war within the military developed primarily among the draftees. The fact that it was the enlistees who were more likely to engage in rebellion should give rise to some thoughts about the current “all volunteer” military. A 1972 study conducted by Human Resources Research Organization found that most deserters and AWOLs were lower class people who joined the military believing the job benefits claims by the recruiters.
There is a Federal statute, 18 USC 2387, which prohibits “all manner of activities (incitements, counseling, distribution or preparation of literature) intended to subvert the loyalty, morale, or discipline of the Armed Services” which carries a possible penalty of ten years in prison. There may be other secret laws against speaking in support of GI resistance under the Patriot Act.
However it is clear that while we are still a nation under the supreme law of the U.S. Constitution those in the military who under conscience, or just under law and common sense, who refuse to participate in illegal and immoral actions are within their legal rights and should have the support of all of us.