Submitted by WhoIsJolyonWest t3_11dpz7c in worldnews
tmrcz t1_jaazk8b wrote
Why don't they jail spies? What's this persona non-grata nonsense?
Nyan_Man t1_jab16c2 wrote
Blurs the line on what info they obtained is real or perhaps all fake. A knee jerk reaction gives away your hand and alerts all yet discovered members to grab and flee.
Downtown_Skill t1_jabdjuz wrote
Espionage always fascinated me in general. Intelligence agencies are essentially criminal wings of governments to me. Not domestically criminal of course but much of what Intelligence agencies do would be deemed illegal in whatever country they're operating in.
Point being it's a weird field with weird rules and there can be multiple reasons for not jailing spies immediately from maintaining relationships, ensuring your prisoners on the other side aren't abused, to not wanting to give away your hand like you originally stated.
Zombie_Harambe t1_jabdxug wrote
Laws themselves are only as legitimate as the government that enforces them. Ie, espionage is 'legal' as it is backed by the political and military capital of the country operating the spies. Whereas you robbing a bank is backed only by you and your gun.
Downtown_Skill t1_jabr1mc wrote
Well it's more organized crime, but espionage is also literally not legal. Spies are arrested and jailed all the time.
Edit: my thought isn't a unique one anyway. Many theorists have drawn comparisons between nations and organized crime. Nations are essentially the crime syndicates that retain the most power and influence.
It makes even more sense when you look at organized crime syndicates and how they run. You'll see a lot of parallels to how nations run. Alliances, treaties, laws, wars, even espionage etc...
The biggest difference is scale but we see with the cartels down in Mexico that crime syndicates can increase their scale so much that they're essentially their own nation with their own laws and governing bodies.
critically_damped t1_jabh9ip wrote
Seems like jailing them would have the exact same effect.
Big-Temporary-6243 t1_jacv8fj wrote
Nah, why pay for their upkeep when they could join the Russian front lines?
[deleted] t1_jac4orh wrote
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Andire t1_jabrr0z wrote
Would it matter if all reactions were the same? Jailed if they stole legit info, or jailed if they sent back incorrect info?
IceBearCares t1_jab3gmx wrote
Every nation has spies in another nation. That's basically the function of an Embassy... Unofficially.
And it's done because we want our spies back alive when they find them.
PNG does that.
mickey95001 t1_jae20gj wrote
What about JPG?
tmrcz t1_jab4h3w wrote
yes, certainly. but you could swap prisoners if it comes to that. at least, you'd have the moral satisfaction 😉
IceBearCares t1_jab507h wrote
They do for the most egregious ones.
AmINotAlpharius t1_jab4jpq wrote
Usually you can't jail a diplomat because of diplomatic immunity, hence non-grata.
I_MARRIED_A_THORAX t1_jac355w wrote
Where's Danny Glover when you need him
AmINotAlpharius t1_jacaqsz wrote
"JUST BEEN REVOKED!!!1"
stilusmobilus t1_jabmf44 wrote
This would be why.
Londonforce t1_jac63qn wrote
It would start an arms race of sorts. You jail a spy, they jail yours. They kill a spy, we kill yours.
Things can get out of hand, and honestly removing them usually completely destroys whatever they were doing, same as jailing them.
Big-Temporary-6243 t1_jacveky wrote
And as an added bonus there's always the need for more fodder at the front lines.
[deleted] t1_jabv34v wrote
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