Apologies for the provocative looking title, it is simply the subject matter of a question.
Under what circumstances is it acceptable for civilians to be killed in a war?
The possibilities run from deliberate and pre-meditated execution at close range to a stray missile launched many miles away. Where is the line that defines a war crime?
As a side observation I have heard worst-case failure rates of 7% for Tomahawk cruise missiles. Given that approximately 1000 of these have been launched and it appears that a maximum of 3 have gone astray the failure rates so far is very low. Nevertheless it is acknowledged that failures will occur and therefore that civilian lives may be lost. Acceptance of this is implies a certain level of civilian casualties will is OK.
Under what circumstances is it acceptable for civilians to be killed in a war?
The possibilities run from deliberate and pre-meditated execution at close range to a stray missile launched many miles away. Where is the line that defines a war crime?
As a side observation I have heard worst-case failure rates of 7% for Tomahawk cruise missiles. Given that approximately 1000 of these have been launched and it appears that a maximum of 3 have gone astray the failure rates so far is very low. Nevertheless it is acknowledged that failures will occur and therefore that civilian lives may be lost. Acceptance of this is implies a certain level of civilian casualties will is OK.