Resigning in Protest

The other Times says:

“There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.”

This is probably even kinda sorta true. There's an interesting political theory question about how officers should behave in these situations. Clearly, there's some range of orders such that an officer thinks the order is unwise and nevertheless he has a duty to follow it. At the same time, an officer's oath is to the country and its constitution, and there are also going to be circumstances under which it's better for the country to resign and call attention to poor choices being made rather than to go along. Where to draw the line seems . . . very hard to say.