Punishing Speech in the Military

Ezra Klein thinks it is un-American to be punishing the soldier(s) who called for Rumsfeld's resignation on TV:

Is there ANYTHING more un-American, less Democratic, or more contradictory to the idea of freedom than that? When did we start adopting Saddam Hussein's methods for dealing with troops? It's fucking disgusting.

Well Ezra is a bright guy, but I think he's 100% wrong on this point (and shouldn't it be a little 'd' democratic?)

I sympathize with the soldiers, but I also think they were way out of line. They should know better and/or their NCO and officer leadership should be doing a better job keeping them from making these comments.

Despite Ezra's attempts to analogize this to Saddam's brutality, the truth is he would probably have these boys killed. Instead they'll get warnings or administrative punishment, likely based on Article 88 (10 U.S.C. 888):

“Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”

Though facially inapplicable to enlisted personnel, it has been extended to them by DOD Directive 1344.10 (see pg. 12, E3.3.11: "Use contemptuous words against the officeholders described in U.S.C. 888")

So they broke a regulation that's been on the books since 1956. Punishing them might not be the best solution, but I don't think it's either disgusting or un-American.

Remember also that this is not a Republican/Bush administration thing. See here, here.