But what, precisely, is a war crime?

by Samanth

As ever, a little judicious reading on the Interwebs brings one to a fine, reasoned analysis of the entire Wikileaks-Afghanistan episode. The author, Charli Carpenter, is at pains to emphasize that he she is “not an opponent of whistle-blowing per se”. But having said that:

“…most of the examples Assange has given in his interviews so far or that have been reported in the press are not actually war crimes, and those that may be have long been known to those following the war.This brings me to three important points about whether Assange’s “revelations” of “war crimes” can justify the potential risks to which he exposed others in blowing the whistle.”

More here. The post is chock-full of terrific supporting links, some of which are well worth following. The leaks were important, and made for great subsequent journalism, but some perspective is always welcome.