Peter Maguire defines “strategic legalism” in his book Law and War: An American Story. His book focuses primarily on the Nuremberg Trials immediately after the Second World War. Mr. Maguire discusses the extraordinary effort the US made to ensure the German war criminal trials are just and legal. In addition, he exposes an implied mission “that the trials would do more than render justice; they would also serve to "reeducate" the German people.” The strategic legalism occurs when the German war criminals sentences are systematically commuted and the convicted are quietly freed from prison. The United States releases these war criminals because as a nation, we are well into the Cold War and the US needs to curry favor and the loyalty of West Germany people.