Quote Originally Posted by motorfirebox View Post
I dunno. Once, maybe. But even a one-time event would have a drastic effect on the political landscape, to the point of a coup. After that, I think political leadership would be in such flux that it'd be an open question who would be in a position to give further such orders. I can't imagine any of the people I served with obeying such an order, unlikely as it is that the HHT of an Apache squadron would be picked to carry something like that out.
That was why the author of the report I cited said such a mission may result in the breakdown of the unit. But that could be got around by picking and choosing who would go into a unit asked to do something like that, long before it was actually called upon to do it. One thing that I believe history tells us is that you can always, always find throat cutters if you want to find them. There are more than a just a few people who will do anything, and I mean anything if an authority figure gives them the ok. We were able to find people to torture with no trouble that I am aware of. And we were able to get average soldiers to help beat people to death (I am talking about the Afghan who was hung from the ceiling and subjected to very numerous leg strikes until his muscles macerated and he died). So if the powers that be cared to, they could find the people they wanted.

But as you say, it would cause big trouble. I don't think it would come as a coup. I think it would come about with state governments challenging the fed government. Something along the lines of the feds tell the state of Texabama that we are going here and doing this. The fed agents are met by members of the Texabama State Police who tell them you will not do that and if you do we will arrest you. That would be some kind of trouble.