The photo was posted by Abu Aardvark, who uses it to illustrate why the Arab press seems to be no longer downplaying events in Fallujah.
Update of a sort: Writing in Slate, Phillip Carter and Owen West argue that it is not a war crime. Color me unconvinced. Their reasons seem to be 1) prisoners have been murdered in other wars, 2) the victim had not been identified as a prisoner, 3) one cannot expect soldiers to follow international law since they are in dangerous situations, and 4) insurgents in Iraq have also killed a lot of noncombatants. These arguments are for the most part not relevant. Societies equip a portion of their members with deadly weapons expecting that they will behave as a part of a legally constituted body, and bind them by rules to assure that they do.
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