Matt Yglesias points to an Oxblog post about the people who have volunteered to go to Iraq to serve as human shields. David Adesnik says:

While, on ethical grounds, I believe that the US should not attack sites "protected" by human shields unless absolutely necessary, I don't understand how doing so could be a crime. If deploying human shields is a crime, then doesn't the government responsible for their deployment bear all legal (if not moral) responsibility for the shields' welfare? Perhaps some of you lawyers out there can help me out on this one.

Reading this made me realize how deeply a consequentialist morality has settled in my head. My initial reaction was horror at the idea of saying "it's OK if people die, since I can't be blamed for it."