They’ve been taught to shoot first check later for many decades. They know that anyone they kill will be marked as a combatant later - we’re only hearing about this story at all because some Navy / intelligence staff involved want people to hear the story so they don’t, “underestimate the extreme risks that American forces undertake.”

Now to me - a humble nobody - it sure seems that while the Seals did take risks of course (lives on the line) - they signed up and worked hard at the chance to take those risks. The far wider and more serious risk was igniting nuclear war or similar huge conflict with South Korea though no fault of the South Koreans. Fuck the “we need people to hear this so they know we’re risking our lives” shit. People need to hear this because it’s illegal and dangerous and shouldn’t happen at all.