During a hearing on Wednesday, judges upheld the war crimes conviction for Slobodan Praljak, an ex-commander of Bosnian Croat forces. Upon hearing the verdict, Praljak said he was not a criminal and then drank from a bottle containing poison. Here is what you should know about war crimes.

Determining when and where to serve “the interest of humanity” is not a science. In a broken world, American policymakers must seek the counsel of the heart and the head, aim for the achievable, and choose the least-bad option.