POTUS is the commander in chief of the united states armed forces, so under the right circumstances disobeying the president’s orders could be a violation of military law ultimately punishable by death. There doesn’t have to be a gun already in hand for something to be more than a ‘suggestion.’
Correct, and upvoted for concreteness. But even if one were to be punished by death for disobeying the president’s order, how likely do you think it would be for the POTUS himself to perform the execution? I doubt even the North Korean president would bother himself with that.
Apart from scheduling problems, I’m pretty sure it would be illegal for POTUS to personally kill someone in general (apart from self defense, etc.) and in the specific case of military law, there’s still a judicial process involved.
From a game-theoretic standpoint, what does it matter whose job it is to pull the trigger, to the person considering disobedience? The credible threat is what distinguishes between manipulation and coercion, regardless of where that potential violence is being stored.
POTUS is the commander in chief of the united states armed forces, so under the right circumstances disobeying the president’s orders could be a violation of military law ultimately punishable by death. There doesn’t have to be a gun already in hand for something to be more than a ‘suggestion.’
Correct, and upvoted for concreteness. But even if one were to be punished by death for disobeying the president’s order, how likely do you think it would be for the POTUS himself to perform the execution? I doubt even the North Korean president would bother himself with that.
Apart from scheduling problems, I’m pretty sure it would be illegal for POTUS to personally kill someone in general (apart from self defense, etc.) and in the specific case of military law, there’s still a judicial process involved.
From a game-theoretic standpoint, what does it matter whose job it is to pull the trigger, to the person considering disobedience? The credible threat is what distinguishes between manipulation and coercion, regardless of where that potential violence is being stored.