# Blowing up boats off So. America - war crime or not?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-up-boats-off-so-america-war-crime-or-not/1024479>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 1, 2025, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-up-boats-off-so-america-war-crime-or-not/1024479 "2025-11-01T16:34:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 23

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**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blowing-up-boats-off-so-america-war-crime-or-not/1024479/23 "2025-11-30T22:28:38Z")

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Killing survivors of a wrecked boat is explicitly cited by the Department of Defense’s Law of War Manual 18.3.2.1 as “clearly illegal”:

[![](https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/591741318_10173533449705037_8830552256185235452_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=PiWUFpzASgkQ7kNvwHes6ob&_nc_oc=AdkkdlQt_4uB2WskxNZx3L_SMIcr16hLaj-_Lysa5Ppk8oZZdPg_wNcPv2TLE_nzcIbDu81p_KixEnlJEPwGH2Rp&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=_Z7icVeBzfblspJbeEdDIg&oh=00_AfjjrXQLiQeUpyotDLssoi059BqlZxcrzbdSEKLMlf28cA&oe=6932A7E5) ](https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/591741318_10173533449705037_8830552256185235452_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=PiWUFpzASgkQ7kNvwHes6ob&_nc_oc=AdkkdlQt_4uB2WskxNZx3L_SMIcr16hLaj-_Lysa5Ppk8oZZdPg_wNcPv2TLE_nzcIbDu81p_KixEnlJEPwGH2Rp&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=_Z7icVeBzfblspJbeEdDIg&oh=00_AfjjrXQLiQeUpyotDLssoi059BqlZxcrzbdSEKLMlf28cA&oe=6932A7E5)

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