fukn blogger and its wsywyg editor. cut & paste jus aint right .... but i'm in a hurry.

A piece inside the Journal points out that right after World War
II, U.S. war-crimes tribunals prosecuted Japanese guards not only for torture
but also for merely humiliating American prisoners. One guard
who mainly forced POWs to salute non-stop for 30 minutes was sentenced to 12
years. "Extreme brutality or serious injury to the victim is not a necessary
element" for conviction, wrote one judge. Defense lawyers for Gitmo
detainees—and human-rights lawyers—are gleefully pointing to the convictions.
But the military argues there's no parallel, since the detainees now are
"unlawful combatants." (The WSJ adds some background in Web-only sidebars.)