Reply #170: There would be two wars going on -- the shooting war abroad

[RaleighNCDUer]

and the domestic war at home.

It wouldn't take long to figure who are the enthusiastic or compliant, and who are not. Those who are not get sent to the Eastern Front, those who are compliant get regular assignments, and those who are enthusiastic get to man the camps, get the Internal Security Police assignments and get to keep a close eye on the others.

Remember, 90% of the Wehrmacht were not Nazis. But 100% of the SS were. And 100% of the Gestapo.

The military would follow orders as long as they were not ordered to do something blatantly illegal. As long as the propaganda tells them they are spreading democracy, defending liberty, they'll round up foreign civilians, imprison them, even occasionally get carried away and commit minor atrocities, just as any military would, without becoming nazis. Just as they are doing today. But there are others who will gladly ignore their oaths and the constitution, like Colonel North and General Miller, who willingly commit crimes against those imprisoned civilians and bring that expertise home to use against our own civilians. Those in the military, particularly the officer corps, who object will find themselves far from home facing hostile fire, or cashiered out of the service.

I was raised as an military brat and was a Marine myself, and I know how many good people there are (or at least were 30 years ago), but I also know that the discipline and bureaucracy of the military can be used against the military in terrible ways if its leadership has an agenda other than defense of the country and constitution.

Consider also the rise of the "private security companies" and the moves to override the prohibition of use of federal troops for police duties (it's late, and my brain isn't coming up with the term) such as the recent move to put the military in charge if FEMA is unable to respond, and yes, I think there are reasonable grounds to worry.