4月2日，100多名常驻美国的国际法专家发表公开信，对当前中东武装冲突中“严重违反国际法”的行为表示“深切关注”。信件第二部分断言，美军可能违反了武装冲突法（LOAC），并可能犯下了战争罪。
首先，我们赞同信件中的某些观点，特别是：美军在执行军事行动期间，必须始终致力于尊重并本着诚意履行国际法律义务，尤其是武装冲突法（国际人道法）所确定的义务。任何相反的建议都会破坏我们军队的效率、纪律和道德；也会损害美国军事行动的合法性和战略利益。
然而，我们要针对信件第二部分关于美军“违反国际人道法”的疑虑提出看法。我们每个人都曾担任陆军高级战争法顾问（尽管我们在此是以个人身份撰稿），并在职业生涯中专注于研究和实践美军各方面行动中的武装冲突法条款。
在第二部分的前半部分，信件在未参考作战背景和打击依据的情况下，通过强调据称针对平民和民用物体、油气基础设施、海水淡化厂和能源基础设施的袭击，概述了这些担忧。在后半部分，信件再次在缺乏作战背景和打击依据的情况下，得出结论称，美军袭击沙贾雷赫·塔耶贝小学很可能构成了违反武装冲突法的行为，并可能构成战争罪。我们认为该信件担忧所依据的方法论存在问题。
Introduction
On April 2nd, over 100 U.S.-based international law experts published a Letter expressing “profound concern about serious violations of international law” in the present armed conflict in the Middle East. Section 2 of the Letter asserts that U.S. forces likely violated the law of armed conflict (LOAC) and potentially committed war crimes.
At the outset, we note our agreement with aspects of the Letter, specifically that it is essential U.S. armed forces remain committed to the respect for and good-faith implementation of international legal obligations – most notably those established by the LOAC (international humanitarian law) – during the conduct of military operations. Any suggestion to the contrary is corrosive to the efficacy, discipline, and morality of our armed forces; it also compromises the legitimacy and strategic interests of U.S. military operations.
However, we want to address Section 2’s “[c]oncerns about violations of international humanitarian law” by U.S. armed forces. This should be understandable as each of us have served as the Army’s Senior Law of War Advisor (though we each write here in our individual/personal capacity) and we have spent our careers primarily focused on the study and practice of the LOAC’s provisions during all aspects of U.S. military operations.
In the first half of Section 2, the Letter – without reference to the operational context and targeting rationale – outlines these concerns by highlighting purported strikes against civilians and civilian objects, oil and gas infrastructure, water desalination plants, and energy infrastructure. In the second half of Section 2, the Letter – again absent reference to operational context and targeting rationale – concludes that a U.S. strike which hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School likely amounted to a LOAC violation and may potentially constitute a war crime.
We find the methodology underlying the Letter’s concerns troubling. At its core, Section 2 reads like a not-so-subtle accusation against unknown, yet very real, U.S. commanders and staff engaged in the immense challenge of selecting and engaging targets in a complex operational environment. We do not believe the Letter’s “concerns” characterization negates this inference, nor does it justify the Letter’s over-reliance on assumptions and sources of limited relevance. We believe that to suggest the serious allegation that U.S. commanders and armed forces have likely violated the LOAC and potentially committed war crimes requires a credible factual foundation derived from rigorous investigation. Unfortunately, we don’t believe the Letter reflects such a foundation.
General to Specific LOAC Violation Concerns
The Letter focuses on purported U.S. attacks on civilians and civilian objects, oil and gas infrastructure, water desalination plants, and energy infrastructure as the basis for its asserted concerns. However, examination of the hyperlinks provided in support of these concerns reveals the