Kat, I think you're exactly right about those up the chain of command. As the old saying goes, shit rolls downhill.

And sometimes, an actual, literal "war crime" doesn't have to take place.

I can think of two major battles -- Paschendale in WWI and Hurtgen Forest in WWII -- in which commanders basically turned thousand of troops into cannon fodder by ordering one suicidal assault after another for no good tactical or stratigic reason -- but rather because of their own pig-headedness and egos.

And do you think anybody was ever held accoutable for those actions?