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Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 6, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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It's a lot of fun to read and go "wow that isn't a war crime

Can you give some examples of things which were described as war crimes but which actually weren't?

White Phosphorous munitions is the most common one you'll see online.

But there's also "firing at fleeing soldiers" "Double tapping" (very controversial but probably not a war crime though it can be a war crime in certain circumstances)

Also what counts as a child soldier depends on the treaty, for example the Geneva convention sets the age at 15, but OPAC defines it as below 18. (most nations have signed OPAC)

One funny thing about watching an anime with people was going "yeah meteor bombing the city was not a war crime but Inaho(the main character) using the school as a command post was because there was a hospital next door to his command post"

Double tapping

Is that when you fire twice at someone's chest?

Shooting at somebody after you've already hit them.

Shoot>Hit>Shoot again to make sure they're actually dead.

I think it's when the bomb site is bombed again after emergency personnel and allies/relatives have shown up... Bombing a funeral would be similar.

"Double-tap" is a rapid pair of aimed shots. They're probably referring to a game-of-telephone version of "dead-checking", where you shoot a downed enemy to make sure they're dead.

yeah it's gotten game of telephoned indeed. I heard it get called Double tapping in justin Taylor's youtube channel figuring that's probably a more "modern term" than what legal scholars from the 70s were saying...

The other place I read it is https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/wvlr/vol108/iss3/10/ which is an article from 2006