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Article: Atrocities in War
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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ATROCITIES IN WAR
ATROCITIES IN WAR.
The history of warfare is replete with examples of atrocities, and the American experience offers no exception. Americans have been the perpetrators as well as the victims of atrocities. Sometimes referred to as war crimes, atrocities have usually involved torture, maiming, or killing of civilians and noncombatants; destruction of nonmilitary targets; maltreatment and killing of wounded and prisoners of war; and use of weapons to cause superfluous damage or injury.
Many atrocities committed by Americans have occurred during guerrilla counterinsurgent wars, such as the American Indian wars, the Philippine Insurrection, and the Vietnam War. Colonial ...