Zenbowl

David at I Did it for the Lolz has the results of a University of Maryland poll up. He notes

Americans are more likely to support attacks against civilians than citizens of every other Muslim country except Nigeria. This poll challenges the popular belief that Islam is a religion of war and the United States is a nation of peace.

The intentional targeting of civilians is something that has been proscribed by international law since 1863.

In 1863 there was an international convention in Geneva, Switzerland, that sought to codify international law with regard to the conduct of war. What the convention sought to do was to take the principles of “civilized” warfare that had evolved over the previous century, and declare them to be a part of international law that should be obeyed by all civilized societies. Essentially, the convention concluded that it should be considered to be a war crime, punishable by imprisonment or death, for armies to attack defenseless citizens and towns; plunder civilian property; or take from the civilian population more than what was necessary to feed and sustain an occupying army.

If the Maryland poll is correct, then the majority of Americans have decided that international laws dating back two centuries are no longer applicable.

Not only that, but the American case against Saddam Hussein built by the State Department specifically cited the law against targeting civilians.

Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, [the senior State Department official] pointed out, parties in war must do their best to protect civilians. “You cannot intentionally target civilians or intentionally put civilians into harm’s way. You must do your best not to target civilians.”

Do I really live in a country where people are so willing to throw international laws to the winds?

To the bible-thumping conservatives who are often encouraging us to simply turn Iraq into a glass parking lot, here’s a reminder from that book you love so much:

As ye sow, so shall ye reap.