Espionage

If Russian agents in the UK tried to kill Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Russian agents should pay.

More than 130 political appointees working in the Executive Office for President Trump do not have permanent security clearances. Some of the staffers on the list who have access to classified materials but do not have a clearance include the president’s daughter, son-in-law, and his top legal counsel, reports NBC News.

Earlier this week a former CIA officer suspected of helping China “neutralize U.S. spying operations on its soil” was arrested and charged with violating the Espionage Act. Here is what you should know about the Espionage Act, one of the most controversial laws in American history.

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba—all strong-willed women with clever minds, courageous hearts, and, not incidentally, pleasing forms—are listed in the genealogy of Jesus. Those four women, along with Queen Esther, were not only heroic and notable for their cleverness and courage. They were also involved in somewhat risqué escapades. In our day, they would be thought of as women with a past.

We can make a clear and convincing case that the Christian tradition may support the idea that lies told for the public good are justifiable. When spies tell such lies in the line of duty, their deceptions fall into that category and, so, are justifiable. Can the same be said for sex in the line of duty?

Some things need to be classified. And it’s not Bradley Manning’s or Julian Assange’s or Edward Snowden’s responsibility or right to determine what to declassify. That’s a job for Congress.

President Obama’s commutation of U.S. Army traitor Bradley, aka Chelsea, Manning’s 35-year prison sentence for violating the Espionage Act, among other crimes, raises important spiritual questions.

Over the last ten years, scholars have shown deeper interest in applying the just war tradition to the extra bellum realm, especially to intelligence collection and surveillance.

Cole’s Just War and the Ethics of Espionage takes readers deep into the labyrinth of ethical challenges in what the author argues is a necessary activity that prevents escalatory conflicts and protects the citizenry of a nation.