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The question of the day seems to be whether Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is a war criminal . It’s a complicated question, in that the civilian Venezuelan boat crews that he ordered be killed were not at war with the United States. So, the real question is whether he’s a criminal , plain and simple.

Hegseth himself probably finds the question absurd because, as he has stated many times, he rejects the very concept of “war crimes,” viewing the killing of suspected bad guys in combat as justified, even laudable, whatever military lawyers might say.

Now that he’s seen as playing a role in actual killings, not merely defending others accused of murder on the

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