has the Crimes of War web site - home page

I've found its Regions & Themes and Special Features sections to be quite useful, especially as to leads to original sources. Keep in mind that most of the direct crimes of war pieces are opinion pieces.

For example, its articles on detention of AQ-Taliban from the gitgo to the present present opinions that simply have not been accepted as law by the US courts that have been deciding those cases. The cases won by detainees have been won on the facts - not on the view of detainment law held by the crimes of war authors.

Of course, anyone may write anything they want about international law; but if you are a practictioner with a court case, what you write has to stay within the confines of the reservation boundaries - if you want to win, as opposed to blowing smoke.

As to the El Sal sitution, at least the soldiers were in uniform. The run of the mill irregulars that some in the world seem to glamorize are not in uniform and regularly mix with the civilian population - and, if we follow some ICRC ideas about "direct participation in hostilities", irregulars are allowed to hide as civilians among civilians so long as they are not engaged in active hostilities.

Regards

Mike