..and all the rest of the politicians on the field are complete saints. BS.

If they are in an office in politics, they are breaking the law somewhere. They all have diplomatic immunity, get it? They can break all the laws they want and not go to jail for it. It's the only way they can keep their positions, if the laws don't apply to them.

But the law with punishments applies for every moron following orders. It's not the leaders' faults, but the faults of the followers in every single war in history. Nobody made you obey your leaders but you.