But..:
one of the problems I have with Democrats (and other critics) labeling these "war crimes" is that it accepts the underlying claim that the people being murdered are enemy combatants. They're not! it's just murder!"War crimes" connects emotively to Nuremberg and labels truly heinous actions. “Murder” should carry moral opprobrium, whether it is done to Americans or to foreigners, but it doesn’t. Not when the alleged perpetrator is the U.S. government, or military personnel. Foreign governments commit murder on innocent civilians. Our government has its reasons. Which reasons are presumptive, and must be overcome by evidence. See, e.g., the Vietnam War.
The charge of murder by American military personnel barely sold with My Lai, and even then the blame fell on Calley, not the hierarchy that knew the war was being conducted that way but didn’t really care (don’t ask, don’t tell).
All of these boat bombings are unlawful and unjustified and so, murder. But killing survivors can be linked to black letter law prohibiting such actions by the military. Which obviates the “under attack by ‘narco-terrorists’” language the SOD would rather use. Hegseth wants to talk about war. The reality is: he ordered people be murdered.
That is better understood when cast in terms of a “war crime.” This isn’t a court proceeding. When you’re fighting for public opinion, you can’t get lost in the finer technicalities.
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