Vattels Law Of Nations

b o o k i i i : o f w a r

§179. Spies.

The employment of spies is a kind of clandestine practice or deceit in war. These find means to insinuate themselves among the enemy, in order to discover the state of his affairs, to pry into his designs, and then give intelligence to their employer. Spies are generally condemned to capital punishment, and with great justice, since we have scarcely any other means of guarding against the mischief they may do us (§155). For this reason, a man of honour, who is unwilling to expose himself to an ignominious death from the hand of a common executioner, ever de- clines serving as a spy: and moreover he looks upon the office as un- worthy of him, because it cannot be performed without some degree of treachery. The sovereign, therefore, has no right to require such a service of his subjects, unless perhaps <376> in some singular case, and that of the highest importance. It remains for him to hold out the temptation of a reward, as an inducement to mercenary souls to engage in the busi- ness. If those whom he employs make a voluntary tender of their ser- vices, or if they be neither subject to nor in any wise connected with the enemy, he may unquestionably take advantage of their exertions, with- out any violation of justice or honour.

NEXT....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summary_execution

Summary executions have been practiced by police, military, and paramilitary organizations and are frequently associated with guerrilla warfare, counter-insurgency, terrorism, and any other situation which involves a breakdown of the normal procedures for handling accused prisoners, civilian or military.

Military jurisdiction

Under military law, summary execution is illegal in almost all circumstances, as a military tribunal would be the competent judge needed to determine guilt and declare a sentence of death. However, there are certain exceptions to this rule in emergencies and warfare where summary execution is legal.

Now, in America, we have a thing called ""THE MILITIA"", of whom is every Able Bodied Male between the Ages of 16 and something like 60....

So which way America, Which Way???