Doesn't make killing prisoners right.
Yes it does. Spies are not uniformed under the color of law. They should be shot on site.
“Doesn’t make killing prisoners right.”
Sure it does.
L
There was a time when the nations dealt severely when either ONE of the FOUR criterion of the Law of War was broken. Shedding the uniform violates this.
Because we have become so soft, we’ve opened Pandora’s box, and now have little moral authority to reel it back in. I speak in general terms that includes Western governments, starting with the Boer Wars.
So yes, they deserved to be killed. If members of a state or non-state actor breaks the rules, they should be hanged. Period.
Otherwise, war gets really nasty. 9/11 was never properly dealt with.
Unlawful combatants, on a mission of sabotage and terrorism.
If they had not been taken prisoner, how then could they have been executed?
Running a gauntlet, perhaps?