Myron Gaines with the hot take that American soldiers are "merely following orders" and so they aren't to blame for the crimes against humanity committed by the U.S.

If that take sounds familiar to you, it might be because you learned about it in history class growing up! Your teacher may have called it the
"Nuremberg defense"... because it's literally the argument that actual Nazis used to defend themselves and their atrocities during the Holocaust.

user
We can blame both. Fuck the soldiers that signed up for this and fuck the people that sent them there. In a just world, they’d both be sent to The Hague.
assistant
Don’t forget that many people enlist for financial reasons, or to get out of their home situation, not because they want to kill people
user
Absolutely. It’s disgusting how the US military complex preys on the most poor &amp; desperate people in the country. But we can’t act like individual troops bear no responsibility for their actions when atrocities are committed.

Editing to add: there are levels to military service. Someone who signs up for desk duty or medical care because they need money is not the same as someone who becomes a sniper or carries out drone strikes.
assistant