When the civilian at the head of the Department of Defense is a public cheerleader for war crimes, that sends a message to everyone in the military that similar conduct won’t be punished. Advocacy for war criminals should be automatically disqualifying for any position in the government. Putting a prominent war crimes apologist in charge of the Pentagon was outrageous, and it should never have been allowed to happen. Since then, Hegseth has removed top military lawyers to clear the way for more war crimes. Hegseth likes to call himsef Secretary of War, but he should really be called the Secretary of War Crimes.