NEW YORK -- Gunning down civilians on the ground in war may constitute a war crime, but blasting civilians out of existence from high in the sky does not. Or so the general rule seems to be.

This rule is noted as the publication of Gregory Vistica's book, "The Education of Lieutenant Kerrey" (St. Martin's Book), thrusts U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey into the news again.

Vistica is the reporter who grabbed national attention two years ago with a seeming expose about Kerrey in The New York Times Magazine. That article, "One Awful Night in Thanh Phong" -- which became the basis for Vistica's book -- began this way: