Only a war crime when others slaughter civilians

At his Senate confirmation hearings for Secretary of State recently, Rex Tillerson was asked by Sen. Marco Rubio “Is Vladimir Putin a war criminal?”. Rubio was referring to Russia's bombing of Allepo in support of the Syrian government in their civil war against ISIS, which killed many civilians trapped in that beleaguered city. Of course, Rubio didn't give a damn about those dead, merely seeking to embarrass Tillerson and his boss Trump over their tilt toward Russia which doesn't play well with the US political establishment bent on re-igniting the Cold War against Putin and his Russian Bear. How so? Neither Rubio, nor any pretend humanitarian in government will ask whether the US is guilty of war crimes over their recent bombing of Iraq's Mosul that killed 300 civilians, many buried under the rubble our bombs caused. The similarities don't end with the dead. Like Russia, we've injected ourselves in a civil war on behalf of duly elected government, against rebels with no legitimacy, just a desire to take over to implement their own version of authoritarianism. 

The Mosul bombing is not an outlier. We've been killing untold thousands of civilians all over the Middle East and Africa for the past 16 years since the 911 attacks. We haven't reeked enough vengeance against the Muslim world and likely never will. Maybe to remind everyone burying their heads in the Kardashians or Dancing With The Stars of our true calling, we should alter one line in the Star Spangled Banner thusly: "And the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through  the night, that we're still the most violent country on the face of the earth."