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> The agency hired one former SS officer as a spy in the 1950s, for instance, even after concluding he was probably guilty of “minor war crimes.” Sincere quest
by Osmium 12y ago
> The agency hired one former SS officer as a spy in the 1950s, for instance, even after concluding he was probably guilty of “minor war crimes.”
Sincere question: what on earth would qualify as a "minor" war crime?
- pyre 12y agoSeems to me that the author put it in quotes because that was the actually terminology used.
- esmi 12y agoLooting?
- TallGuyShort 12y agoThe term was probably used loosely and only as a relative term. Consenting to unethical interrogation practices, for instance, is "minor" compared to personally participating in the massacre of hundreds of unarmed people. They're both serious, and they're both war crimes, but they make a big difference in how "evil" that person ought to be perceived IMO.
- voidlogic 12y ago...Esp. when said hiring organization might not have issues with "unethical interrogation practices"
- macspoofing 12y agoProbably on par with "light treason".
- walshemj 12y agoAh so scooter Libby then :-) burning a non avowed CIA agent for partisan politics is treason in my book - et alone that outing Ms Palme might have led to some of her contacts ending up dead or in jail for being associated with her
- bradleyjg 12y agoLest you think such thinking is an outdated relic of the past, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, retroactively redefined war crimes within the meaning of federal criminal law so that only "grave breaches" of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions would qualify. Later on in the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, Congress as a practical matter provided even more extensive retroactive immunity for war criminals via the expedient of a reliance on counsel defense. (Counsel in this case being John Yoo et. al.)
- NoMoreNicksLeft 12y agoStealing cultural treasures, artwork.
- afarrell 12y agoOne example might be using hollow-point bullets in a military zone. Another might be forcing officers to perform manual labor alongside enlistedmen.