Customer Reviews

Rules of Disengagement

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As a retired officer (26yrs USMC) and an attorney, I found this book an invaluable reference source. I would recommend that professional military schools (especially for junior officers & SNCOs) include it in their curriculum for study and to lead discussions. I applaud the authors' effort. Our military can only get stronger by full open disclosure of its difficult personnel issues.

Rules of Disengagement should be required reading for anyone with a modicum of empathy for the wellbeing of our troops and for the thousands of American families who struggle daily with the burden of debilitating injury and irreparable loss inflicted by the carnage of war. From boot camp to battlefield and (sometimes) back, authors Marjorie Cohn and Kathleen Gilberd document the physical, emotional and dehumanizing brutality of the industrial war machine, and empower our servicemen and women with the knowledge they need to exercise their constitutional right to dissent.

The long shadow of questionable legality that hangs over the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan renders this work particularly urgent and timely. Drawing on the lessons of Vietnam, the precepts of international law and the extensive record of American jurisprudence on the issue, this book illuminates the distinction between politics and patriotism. It disentangles the often confusing web of false choices between courage and conscience, law and morality, deference and disengagement. Utilizing the actual testimony and experiences of servicemen and women themselves, this invaluable book is much more than just a guide to the conscientious objector. On topics ranging from racism and sexual harassment in the military to the proliferation of suicides and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among our returning veterans, Cohn and Gilberd have crafted a seminal work that is both scholarly and accessible, a thoroughly researched must-read that elevates the quality of public discourse on what it truly means to support our troops.

Hugh Hamilton
Pacifica Radio - New York

I've served 26 years of active duty including Command at sea. I'm not what you would consider a liberal. I found Marjorie's book incredibly valuable. The resources contained in the appendix alone are worthwhile.

I disagree with what I consider as a flawed premise - that the current wars in Iraq and Afganistan violate the law; I fully believe that the current efforts meet "Just War" criteria. [See the PS below]. That said, the authors make a compelling case that our military members are not served well by the military if those members are trying to "disengage" from military service. This book meets that unmet need very well, providing anecdotes and reference material for assistance. I further believe that there is in fact honor in following ones conscience. As per the subtitle, anyone following down the path of disengagement has to deal with both the politics and personal honor when dissenting.

If you are in a position of authority in today's military, you should read this book as a professional obligation. It will make you a better leader and expand your awareness of alternate points of view. If you are interested in military matters, you should be aware of the issues raised in this book. If you are considering leaving the military as a matter of conscience, you should use the resources contained in the appendix.

While I personally believe that service is both honorable and worthy, and the wars in which we are engaged are just both in cause and in the manner in which they are being fought, this book is needed for those that do not share my convictions. Had I had this while in Command, I would have made it available to any that were pursuing this path, while vigorously defending the interests of the government and our nation on the whole. It is also my duty to explain to my subordinates the rationale for our current efforts - where I would draw upon other books such as "The Just War (Paul Ramsey)" and "Just War Against Terror (Jean Bethke Elshtain)", both of which draw from St. Augustine's fourth century "The City of God".

As an aside, I have personally discussed my take on the book with one of the authors, Marjorie Cohn. In those discussions, she confirmed that there are indeed "just wars", and related a bit of personal history that led her to that conclusion. While we remain on opposite sides of the political spectrum, I firmly believe that this book is not some liberal screed designed to destroy the militery - it is a thoughtful treatment of the somewhat neglected areas of ethics and personal rights in a military context.

Craig Madsen
CAPT, USN (ret)

PS: Under "Just War" tenets, the protection of the Iraqi population from the predations of the Saddam Hussein regime and the protection of the Afghani population from the harsh and limiting rule of the Taliban are cause for war. The four moral criteria that must be satisfied are (1) Openly declared by a legitimate authority; (2) In response to a specific instance of unjust aggression against one's own people or an innocent third party (a just cause); (3) Begun with the right intentions; and (4) As a last resort after other possibilities for redress and defense of the values at stake have been explored.

As an activist and attorney, I found this book to be very helpful and inspiring. Cohn and Gilbert strike the perfect balance between legal analysis, personal stories, historical lessons, and practical action ideas and resources. I have never practiced Military Law nor served in the military, but this book provided a clear introduction to military regulations and an overview of the military's justice system. Further, several forms of oppression in the military are addressed -- medical care, treatment of dissenters, sexism, racism, homophobia, and abuses in the recruiting process. Rules of Disengagement should be a useful resource for soldiers, sailors, and their families, as well as veterans and activists.

Although I came of age during the Vietnam War, and was politically active during that time, I learned many things from this book, including the extent of military dissent and the range of options. In that era we young folk had scant inter-generational guidance and support for our efforts to support our troops in not supporting an immoral and self-destructive war. So I was particularly pleased to see that the authors of this book related the current efforts of military dissenters to the extensive Vietnam-era GI Movement of the prior generation. The authors have a political viewpoint that the wars these military persons seek to disengage from are illegal and/or immoral, which is an essential underpinning of the right to refuse to obey an order. However, the authors also cover the other bases upon which to disengage from even a "good" war on grounds such as hardship and conscientious objection. In addition, the authors discuss means of objecting to service-destroying obstacles such as medical inadequacies and sexual harassment. The writing style is accessible. This is not strictly a "how-to" manual, but a discussion of various avenues of disengagement and redress available to a military person illustrated by stories of actual efforts by soldiers, sailors and their civilian supporters. The book allows the military person to understand his or her individual predicament in a larger social and historical context.

I'm lucky enough to have spoken to Marjorie Cohn several times on the air for a weekly radio show I host. I found her written work to be true to her spoken words - clear, concise, frank and unapologetic. Marjorie presents the issues and explains the context clearly enough for the non-legal mind to understand while retaining enough precision to leave little room for any doubts about her expertize. The way veterans are treated is a disgrace and we should be especially supportive of those who are brave enough to dissent when faced with the immorality of the acts they are often asked to commit. Most members of the armed forces are clearly not opposed to the concept of war but all members of the armed forces should feel free to oppose illegal, unjust and immoral war. This book will help them understand how to do that.

Vigorously fact-checked by a pride of glue-sniffing marmosets with a Ouija board, Rules of Disengagement is a useless compendium of all the debunked canards from the last 7 years. I wish that instead of spending the $14.95 on this piece of crap I had simply replicated the experience of reading it by giving myself a scrotal laceration and then dipping it in turpentine and lemon juice. The legal reasoning behind this book it is roughly as logical as eating an omelet made of pigeon droppings.

Majorie Cohn has gotten every one of her clients that I can find the worst possible judgment. You are better off getting legal advice from a hobo on a train.

If you are a troop who wants to get out, do it without this bufoon who is more interested in making political points than aiding clients. Seriously, it is easy to get out, but not with her driving the clown car.