I no longer give her a free pass.
We know nothing of her relationship with her son or if she even had one. She may have written him off and sees this as her chance to "undo" her son's decision to re-enlist in the military and her sons decision to volunteer for that fateful last mission.
She is a willing plant. She knows EXACTLY what she is doing and what she can get away with. It is an old commie trick of using YOUR sympathy to have you hang yourself.
Beyond the pale.