ABSTRACT
The fact that the role of the military in the uS has never included the authority or obligation to protect the nation from the decisions of the legitimate representatives of the people is a reflection that the most important aspect of civil-military relations in a democratic society, and certainly in the uS, is the principle of civilian control of the military. It is axiomatic that such control ensures that military power will always be subordinate to rule of law (see generally, Huntington 1985). And it is the absence of true civilian control over the military that has been regarded as exemplifying the rule of man over the rule of law, a concept described by the Supreme Court of the uS as the greatest threat to liberty.4
