That members of Australian Special Forces committed war crimes when on duty in Afghanistan does not come as a huge surprise to me. Shocking as it is when laid bare in media reportage, war crimes have been a feature of warfare since humans first took up arms against each other. In fact, the rape of women, the torture and summary execution of civilians and prisoners of war, the enslavement of surrendering populations, has been used a tool of war. When conquering armies entered defeated towns and cities, they collected whatever 'booty' they could as a matter of policy.

Of course, we know this is wrong, very wrong. We like to think that we bring a higher moral sense to bear on issues surrounding war and its conduct. But I beg to differ. The whole notion of deterrence in modern warfare is based upon holding whole populations hostage to instant destruction. Politicians connive in the targeting of cities by nuclear weapons, a war crime of huge proportions. 

Those soldiers who thought it okay to brutalize or murder innocent civilians should be brought to justice. So too should those who think that killing entire civilian populations is somehow justified, or different, from any other war crime.