Just following orders

[Flyndaran]

The Nazis were.

And the extreme majority of America soldiers don't do that kind of crap.

Neither did the extreme majority of nazis.

[Arcade Man D]

Still, I don't like how following orders is an excuse for Americans to torture and murder but not for Nazis and others.

It's not. And it never was.

At my former job, my co-worker was an ex-Marine. He told me that if he was ever given an unlawful order, it was not only his right, but his duty as an American soldier to say "sir, no, sir" or "with all due respect, I cannot comply with that order".

My best friend is in the US Army right now, and he served a tour in post-Saddam Iraq. He's said the same thing.

If you can't separate the idea of "unlawful order" and "lawful order" just from the terms, an analogy:

If your boss tells you to alter someone else's time card, your right, and your duty as a law-abiding citizen is to say "that is illegal, and I will not take part in it". If your boss tells you to count your drawer down before taking it out, and put a cover on it as you take it out of the cash office to the register, you do it. The former is what an unlawful order would be, and the latter a lawful order.

[jackfaire]

It's not. And it never was.

At my former job, my co-worker was an ex-Marine. He told me that if he was ever given an unlawful order, it was not only his right, but his duty as an American soldier to say "sir, no, sir" or "with all due respect, I cannot comply with that order".

Good unlike a lot of soldiers he figured it out for himself. In basic they teach that you follow the order first then report it to the person above the one who gave you the order. I smelled the bs in that real quickly but some people really thought that was the way of it.

[Flyndaran]

It's not. And it never was.
...r.

Must be nice in your universe, because here no one has been convicted of murder and torture despite all the photographic and documentary evidence.

The only conclusion I can draw, is that following orders is a valid excuse.