John has no doubt whatsoever that Peter is telling him the truth and that he's not bluffing. John knows as an absolute certainty that if he corners Peter as part of his political game, Peter will shoot and kill Mary.

Nonetheless, knowing full well what is going to happen to Mary, John continues his political game and proceeds to corner Peter, who then proceeds to shoot and kill Mary.

Everyone would agree that Peter deserves to be condemned and punished for murdering Mary. But what about John? Shouldn't John at least be condemned for what he has done? If he had refrained from engaging in political gamesmanship, Mary would still be alive. In his political gamesmanship, John proceeded to corner Peter knowing full well that Peter would end up snuffing out Mary's life.

American statists would say no. They would say that all moral and legal condemnation should be heaped onto Peter for murdering Mary. They would actually rally behind John's efforts to condemn Peter for what he has done and to bring him to justice.

How do we know this? Because this is what American statists have done with respect to Ukraine. They have heaped condemnation on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine while, at the same time, standing squarely and steadfastly in support of the U.S. national-security establishment, notwithstanding the fact that it was its political gamesmanship that it knew, as an absolute certainty, would bring about a Russian invasion of Ukraine.