War and the rules of war

The rules of war don't only go by the times, but by nation. It's more of a moral dispute than anything. Look at the Japanese's aggression against China and Korea. It was all out there; raping, manslaughter, it didn't make a difference. The same went with the Nazis with the Jews in WWII. It's more of the British influence of being a gentleman in war on most of the Western world. Except back then in the 15th century, the red coats would line up in formation and... die.

For United States, Vietnam wasn't the only exception. There have been cases of inhumane actions in even the most recent Iraq war. But that isn't the action of the whole army but a group alone. The rules help though, because it makes your country and army the 'good guys' while the other army using guerrilla warfare and inhumane tactics the 'bad guys'.

Jam it back in, in the dark.