When it comes to major national security interests, the spirit of the law can be more important than the letter. The law can always be changed, and the eventual

When it comes to major national security interests, the spirit of the law can be more important than the letter. The law can always be changed, and the eventual outcome will often be worse after each rewrite. Consider the sanctions against Russia, for example. Some European companies continued doing business in Russia. Everything they did was perfectly legal, and they complied with the sanctions to the letter. But because some officials considered those companies were aiding the Russian war effort, the next round of US sanctions targeted those companies specifically. Then they had to stop all business indefinitely, because no bank was willing to deal with them anymore.