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It gets worse. He held dual US-Iranian citizenships, so what he did was the textbook definition of treason, regardless of how you feel about Iran. If anything,

It gets worse. He held dual US-Iranian citizenships, so what he did was the textbook definition of treason, regardless of how you feel about Iran. If anything, this proves he is too stupid to have been very effective in his job as propagandist. I feel sorry for the guy and hope that someone intervenes on his behalf, but he is clearly an utter imbecile.

tzs 15y ago
What specifically are you considering treasonous?
- psykotic 15y ago
  Working for the military of an enemy state to undermine the government and instigate rebellion. I'm not making a value judgement. All I'm saying is that when you take everything into account, the legal charge isn't crazy. The punishment is a different matter; Iran's legal system is obviously barbaric.
  - jackpirate 15y ago
    Treason is punishable by death in the US too.
    - psykotic 15y ago
      Yes, it is one of the only countries left in the Western world that still has capital punishment on the books. But death is not mandated as the minimum punishment: "Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."
    - agravier 15y ago
      It's barbaric too.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
GiraffeNecktie 15y ago
>what he did was the textbook definition of treason But what exactly did he do? The Washington Post story only says he was visiting his relatives, which doesn't sound treasonous on the face of it.
- psykotic 15y ago
  The story has been around for a few weeks. As far as I know, his exact role at Kuma has not been publicly confirmed. But everything I've read indicates that he was hired for his military background and knowledge of Iran and Farsi to work on DoD-sponsored projects at Kuma Reality Games. That only make sense if it was for propaganda video games aimed at Iranians. Kuma previously made an episode of its Kuma/War first-person shooter based on a what-if scenario of the US invading Iran. All this does not in itself prove that he did anything treasonous, but it gives Iran good reason to believe that he did (and they no doubt have more information than we do), so in either case he's reckless for returning to Iran.
  - roc 15y ago
    > "That only make sense if it was for propaganda video games aimed at Iranians." Or if it was for propaganda video games aimed at Americans who want something a little more authentic in their cultural set dressing and battle chatter. Or it was for training material for the DoD who wanted more-accurate cultural set dressing and battle chatter.

tzs 15y ago

What specifically are you considering treasonous?

psykotic 15y ago
Working for the military of an enemy state to undermine the government and instigate rebellion. I'm not making a value judgement. All I'm saying is that when you take everything into account, the legal charge isn't crazy. The punishment is a different matter; Iran's legal system is obviously barbaric.
- jackpirate 15y ago
  Treason is punishable by death in the US too.
  - psykotic 15y ago
    Yes, it is one of the only countries left in the Western world that still has capital punishment on the books. But death is not mandated as the minimum punishment: "Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."
  - agravier 15y ago
    It's barbaric too.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]

GiraffeNecktie 15y ago

>what he did was the textbook definition of treason But what exactly did he do? The Washington Post story only says he was visiting his relatives, which doesn't sound treasonous on the face of it.

psykotic 15y ago
The story has been around for a few weeks. As far as I know, his exact role at Kuma has not been publicly confirmed. But everything I've read indicates that he was hired for his military background and knowledge of Iran and Farsi to work on DoD-sponsored projects at Kuma Reality Games. That only make sense if it was for propaganda video games aimed at Iranians. Kuma previously made an episode of its Kuma/War first-person shooter based on a what-if scenario of the US invading Iran. All this does not in itself prove that he did anything treasonous, but it gives Iran good reason to believe that he did (and they no doubt have more information than we do), so in either case he's reckless for returning to Iran.
- roc 15y ago
  > "That only make sense if it was for propaganda video games aimed at Iranians." Or if it was for propaganda video games aimed at Americans who want something a little more authentic in their cultural set dressing and battle chatter. Or it was for training material for the DoD who wanted more-accurate cultural set dressing and battle chatter.