Sri Lanka, Sept. 17 -- For many people around the world, the memory of atrocities that shocked us is often overwritten a few years later by new horrors. But for survivors and the families of victims, the suffering never ends. Worse still, military and political leaders elsewhere - who might be considering atrocities of their own - are paying close attention. Unaddressedwar crimesprovide a dismal model for future atrocities.

Sri Lanka's total defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, which cost tens of thousands of civilian lives, in what theUnited Nations foundmay constitutecrimes against humanity, demonstrated utter disregard for thelaws of warby both sides. Yet it isheld up todayby someIsraeli military s...