The lies that Dubya forced into US intelligence reports about Iraq
caused a lasting skepticism about US intelligence reports,
which did harm just now, as people distrusted the reports
about Putin that we now know were valid.
Now US intelligence says that Putin's army is considering taking the
relatives of Ukrainian soldiers hostage and killing them if the
soldiers don't surrender.
Putin has established a pattern of shocking the world by taking
barbarity further than people could have believed. Threatening war
if Sweden and Finland join NATO
is the latest example. That doesn't prove he would descend to terrorism,
but it would fit his pattern.
We must not allow him to win victories by threatening barbarity.
The proper response to such barbarity is, "Wanted dead or alive."
However, even if Putin is planning to do that, he has not done it yet.
There is a big moral difference between "may do X" and "has done X."
Putin still has the option of not murdering hostages.