MerryJaneDoe

Dunno what to tell ya. The process is what it is. What we are seeing is a failure of of the entire system of checks and balances. The legislative and judicial branches refuse to reign in the executive branch. IMHO, our Congress members and Supreme Court are more culpable for those girls’ deaths than the soldier who fired that missile.

I can’t speak for what actually happens, or what even what SOP in the armed forces might be in this situation.

SO…I googled it. Here’s the levels of complexity involved in a Tomahawk missle strike:

1. Command and Authorization (Top-Down Flow)

   Authorization: The process starts with a decision by the President, often passed through the National Security Council to the Secretary of Defense, and then to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Command Channel: The Joint Chiefs convey the order to a regional commander (e.g., U.S. Central Command or Indo-Pacific Command). Execution Order: The regional commander transmits the target information and engagement requirements to the specific launch platforms (ships or submarines).

2. Transmitting the Order to the Specialist

   Secure Communications: The order is sent via secured, encrypted digital communications to the vessel’s Tomahawk Strike Coordinator (TSC) or equivalent senior operator. TTWCS Integration: The data is directly integrated into the Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System (TTWCS) on board. Mission Planning: The TTWCS allows the crew to plan the route or receive pre-planned, digital target coordinates, known as a Missile Sequence Number (MSN) task.

3. Action by the Specialized Operator (Launch Team)

   Mission Assignment: The firing platform’s operators receive a digital tasker, which includes primary and sometimes backup assignments. Validation: Specialists on the bridge/combat center verify the target and launch authorization. Targeting Data Entry: The TTWCS is updated with the new target data, which may include GPS coordinates. Block IV missiles can be reprogrammed in-flight, but the launch command requires pre-defined parameters. Launch Sequence: The operators execute the final launch sequence, which involves the missile being ejected by a solid-fuel booster from the Vertical Launching System (VLS).

SO, at which point should the crew have refused the order? Where does the blame lay?

It seems like assigning the blame solely to the soldier is downplaying the crime. Why don’t you want the entire chain of command prosecuted?

Nope. Not gonna read a 23 page document. YOU tell ME how it’s similar. Or at least copy/paste the relevant information.

Second, I’m all about prosecuting war crimes. I’d love to see this one prosecuted. How about we actually investigate it, too? Maybe, I dunno, find out who gave the order. If bad intel was passed. If the leaders knew about the bad intel but decided to proceed.

Ofc, this won’t actually happen. The “war” is just another distraction, until the next manufactured crisis and the next until humanity snuffs itself out with its own all-too-clever Machiavellian schemes.

But by all means, throw the full weight of social justice at the poor sap who has to live with knowing his finger pushed a button that killed 160 innocent girls. Beloved daughters and sisters, erased from this world to amuse a demented billionaire’s ego.

You got me twisted, my friend. I fully condemn the military actions. All of them.

But assigning blame to some random soldier? It’s like screaming at the waitress over a menu item. She didn’t write the menu, she doesn’t cook the food, she has literally no power over anyone.

By coveting.

There’s a scene from Band of Brothers, two GIs meet a French family on D-Day. One of the soldiers offers the boy, 4 or 5 years old, a chocolate bar. The boy smiles from ear to ear when he tastes it. His father says, “Thank you. He’s never had chocolate before.”

Imagine that. Imagine living in a society where chocolate is considered an exotic food. That’s how the world was, for almost all of human history. You live in Norway and you want a lemon? HA! Tough shit, you’ll never even know what lemon smells like.

But, at some point, Americans got used to having every delicacy from every corner of the world. We forgot that each nibble of chocolate is exotic. That the beans aren’t native to our country. That most people in the world can’t afford real chocolate except as a rare treat. And look at us now - just like the rest of the world.

Oh, my. The US is so very, very far away from a revolution. The citizens are hopelessly outgunned. The police have been militarizing since the 80s, and there’s always the Army/National Guard if things get really wild.

Further, the people who are most likely to call for revolution are the least likely to own firearms or have military training. MAGA is armed to the teeth - the Dems and progressives, not so much.

So, I’m afraid you’ll have to choose Door #2 - a slow descent into authoritarianism and fascism. (But at least ICE can provide “security” for our “fair and free” elections.)

Google? What say you?

Based on reports from early 2026, there have been allegations and estimates suggesting a high death toll during crackdowns on protests in Iran, with some sources, including reports cited by TIME magazine, indicating that over 30,000 people may have been killed by security services on Jan. 8 and 9, 2026. However, this figure is highly disputed and the subject of intense media contention:

High Estimates: Reports from Iranian interior ministry sources and TIME suggested over 30,000 deaths in a massive, rapid crackdown, with bodies reportedly transported in trucks and the exhaustion of body bags.

Government Denials: The Iranian Foreign Ministry has dismissed reports of a 30,000+ death toll as a “Hitler-style BIG LIE”.

Official Figures: The Iranian government has acknowledged a much lower death toll of 3,117, claiming this number includes civilians, security forces, and those they termed “terrorists”.

Other Estimates: Other reports have indicated varied, yet still high, estimates, including over 16,500 dead, 7,000 killed according to activists, or a lower figure of around 1,300, as reported in other updates during that volatile period.

Probably just a stickler for spelling errors.

For the sake of those kids and their families, I hope your numbers are off. I can’t find anything to corroborate your claim, but feel free to provide specifics/sources.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War

Yes, they should be charged. But they won’t be charged, because the executive branch is the very branch that runs law enforcement and the military. Why would they give themselves a black eye?

There’s no “just” about it. They were following orders AND they did not know. They couldn’t have known. The soldiers are given coordinates, not the details about what the structure is used for.

The Nazis at Nuremburg could not claim ignorance. There was a clear paper trail. Nazis had killed millions for the reason of ethnic cleansing. They did it for years. They kept records.

Tell me, how are these situations similar?

How is this relevant?

They weren’t throwing rocks. They weren’t shooting a rifle. They were shooting missiles.

Again, the soldier who fired that missile would have no idea what sort of building he’s been ordered to strike. That soldier is sitting in a command center somewhere, miles away from the front line, feeding coordinates into a targeting system.

And, yes, grunts are usually treated EXACTLY like toddlers, especially in military court. That’s why they’re called “grunts”. They are trained to follow orders. They are trained to push the button without question. THAT’S THEIR JOB.

Now, if a grunt is given an order which directly violates the military law, they can refuse. So, if their commanding officer said “Hey, I want you to kill those 170 underage civilians”, then the grunt can (and should) say “Hell no, sir”. That wasn’t the case here. There’s no reason for the grunt to refuse the order, because the grunt is just targeting a building, with a missile.

The future comes down to one thing - management.

Humans have inhabited Ukraine since 32,000 BC. - Wikipedia

Ukraine, the official country, is just some lines drawn on a map. The people, the culture, the history has been around for thousands and thousands of years.

Unfortunately, it’s not entirely up to Trump. Iran isn’t going to back down just because Trump is all* “Oh, jk, lol!” *

160 Iranian schoolgirls were killed by an American missile strike. Trump is still in denial. How do you suppose that sits with the Iranian people?

For what? How could they possibly know that it was a school? They aren’t privy to the intel. They are on a boat or a base, maybe hundreds of miles away. They receive an order to fire on a location and follow the order.

That’s exactly what they signed up for. Grunt work. Following orders.

The guy with his finger on the trigger wasn’t told a goddamn thing. Conversation went like this:

“Fire on these coordinates.”

“Yessir.”

Because soldiers follow orders.

How would that soldier know that the school was filled with children? He’s sitting 100 miles away, on a boat. His commanding officer gives him a set of coordinates to fire upon. The soldier follows orders, because that’s his only job.