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The U.S. armed forces may soon face the choice of whether to refuse illegal and unconstitutional orders, @radiofreetom.bsky.social writes. What will they do?

The Civil-Military Crisis Is Here
The leaders of the U.S. military may soon face a terrible decision.
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October 7, 2025 at 8:37 PM

THE ATLANTIC DAILY
The Civil-Military Crisis Is Here

The leaders of the U.S. military may soon face a terrible decision.

By Tom Nichols

https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/zec4jIKUzbTS3ZZEMbeuhNoEhio=/0x0:2976x1674/750x422/media/img/mt/2025/10/2025_10_07_The_Daily_A_Crisis_in_Military_civil_Relations/original.jpg
Jim Vondruska / Reuters

OCTOBER 7, 2025, 6:46 PM ET

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To capture a democratic nation, authoritarians must control three sources of power: the intelligence agencies, the justice system, and the military. President Donald Trump and his circle of would-be autocrats have made rapid progress toward seizing these institutions and detaching them from the Constitution and rule of law. The intelligence community has effectively been muzzled, and the nation’s top lawyers and cops are being purged and replaced with loyalist hacks.

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