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The deeply rooted culture of silence and unwavering obedience within the…
The deeply rooted culture of silence and unwavering obedience within the military presents barriers to whistleblowing, the suppression of dissenting voices leads to a unchecked and harmful institution.
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“Free Speech Versus Bureaucracy, Information Liberation”
“Bureaucratic elites also control information in order to maintain power in relation to other organizations.”
The military withholds information wether for good or bad it does, in the case of the vietnam war it was evidently very unfavorable or justifiable, whistleblowing is crucial to circumvent this.
“The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) in the U.S., for instance, makes it a crime for a soldier to refuse a directive from a superior unless what that order requires is “patently unlawful”.”
This lack of oversight is both reckless and irresponsible. Soldiers cannot be expected to shoulder such a heavy burden of responsibility without proper accountability mechanisms in place. Without whistleblowers, the potential for abuse of authority within such an institution would be detrimental.
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“"The War Logs." Manning described the leak as "one of the more significant documents of our time, removing the fog of war and revealing the true nature of twenty-first century asymmetrical warfare"”
The consequences of an unchecked military that runs purely on obedience would have completely ignored this horrific incident and pedaled on not stopping to consider the precautions they might face.
“To what extent are soldiers required to accept grave dangers and what might be the implications of their disobedience to orders for a culture of peace?”
The expectations imposed on soldiers are unequivocal and founded on reasoning, yet they have the unintended consequence of desensitization and the creation of hazardous circumstances.
“I did it because I had to... because I had no other choice . . . because I couldn’t live with myself if I hadn’t done anything . . . because it was speak up or stroke out . . .
What else could I do? I have to look at myself in the mirror every morning?”
Whistleblowers have an immense sense of moral duty and responsibility, it is not a question of if they should speak but rather how.