Samuel Moyn : Yet on another level , the years since Abu Ghraib have marked a radical new stage , because of how central law has been to our debates about war : The American government tried to deny that treaties prohibiting torture ( from the 1949 Geneva Conventions onward ) applied to the global war on terror , but it failed . Who launched war : do laws of war impose limits how war carried out ? After WWI , aim was to end war , but in recent years , aim shifted to making it more ' humane , ' he says . Moyn : Focus now not to end enemies ' aggression , but to stop atrocity . Vietnam a low point . Since 9/11 , our wars much cleaner , lawful ; but WWI idea of ' war to end wars ' remains , he says .
Samuel Moyn : Who launched war : do laws of war impose limits how war carried out ? After WWI , aim was to end war , but in recent years , aim shifted to making it more ' humane , ' he says . Moyn : Focus now not to end enemies ' aggression , but to stop atrocity . Vietnam a low point . Since 9/11 , our wars much cleaner , lawful ; but WWI idea of ' war to end wars ' remains , he says .