Rules of War

I'm not a member of the military, never have been, never hope to be. I have never read the Geneva Convention Accord. Don't really know what's allowed and what isn't. However, I have to admit that it seems strange to me that in a war where the object seems to be to kill the other guys and as many of them as possible before your side gets wiped out, that there are rules of any sort.

When I first saw Lynndie England on the news with the cigarette dangling from her lips, pointing to Iraqi prisoners, I have to admit I laughed. Mainly because she did not appear to be a girl who would be interested in male genitalia at all. Boy was I wrong! Next time I saw her she was pregnant! And allegedly by the officer who told her to mock the prisoners! Go figure.

Now I'm not sure I know all the details of what supposedly went on in the Abu Ghraib prison, but to the best of my knowledge the U.S. soldiers did not kill any of the prisoners. They may have inflicted pain on them, but again, I'm not clear on that either.

In fact on the news the other day I heard their activity described as "taunting."

Taunting? Is that now an offense punishable with incarceration?

So let me get this straight. In a wartime situation a soldier can blow out the brains of the enemy, but can't put a leash on him and make him bark like a dog.

That seems incongruous to me, but then again, I don't have a great military mind.