Rules of Engagement

Why the hilarious pretense that war has rules? We keep hearing about "war crimes" as if the Geneva Convention is some sacred text. The kubuki theater has this or that side talking about civilian casualties, about massacres, about the rules around bombing cities and such. Please. Can't we just admit we are a species of savage warriors, always have been, and that little has changed but the technology of death. The former head of Israel's National Security Council comes close to candid when he says "there is no such thing as innocent Palestinian civilians." When the US bombed German and Japanese cities in WWII they acknowledged the same thing and after the Korean War the gloves really came off. Ask any citizen of Hanoi or Mosul. That's why we can say there is no such thing as an innocent Israeli citizen. By the so-called logic of the good general, if the citizens are complicit - and here he refers to German citizen support for Nazis (of course), then they are valid targets. Each and every one because bombs don't discriminate and soldiers only rarely. And there can be no denying Israeli citizens voted for the current government. On U.S. media like Fox News, the bloodlust for "terrorists" rages 24/ 7. The NY Times is trying to be objective,reporting the horror and the various reactions to the horror. Biden wants the Evangelical vote so talks out of both sides of his ancient, mumbling mouth. Why anyone believes in the rules of engagement anymore is a total mystery to me.