Reply #24: Ironically, I don't think they could be

[daleo]

As irregulars, I don't know if the Geneva Convention would apply. Bush and Allawi claim the resistance is not legitimate, so by that reasoning their actions don't constitute war crimes, just regular crimes.

However, occupation forces are held to certain international legal standards, so they can be charged with war crimes, at least in principle. Of course, no U.S. soldier is likely to ever be charged with a war crime, at least by any international body, given the current political situation. They may occasionally be charged by the U.S. military itself, as a few of the Abu Ghraib guards have been.