ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the role of bodies within the complex historical development of the laws of war, and the contemporary crisis of human rights. It analyses how the body Counts, that is, how attempts to determine or obfuscate the identity of the victims of violence influence the legality/legitimacy of such violence, and the consequential options available for the prevention of abuses and protection of human rights. David Cole pointed out that if the trends in civilian casualties were correct, than the US was outpacing Saddam Hussein in its violence. The chapter examines the ways in which violence is understood as either acts of war, or crimes of war. It presents genealogy of the historical evolution of the laws of war, international humanitarian law and human rights, with an emphasis on the socially-constructed divide between violence that is sanctioned, and that which is considered illegal.
