Though the US War Department instituted the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal and swore it was more than victor's revenge on the defeated Germans, and though a US Supreme Court Justice presided, Rockwood (U. of Maryland-U. College) argues that the official position of the US has been a steady retreat from its findings ever since. He traces the development of the standard by which individual commanders are held directly responsible for war crimes as official US military doctrine from the Civil War to the ongoing military occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)