Some have attempted to argue that Russian culture is somehow to blame for the crimes Russia’s military has committed, and although this is inaccurate and perhaps even bigoted, it is fair to say that Russia’s military culture and organization is to blame for the crimes in Ukraine—and for the fact that Russia’s military seems to commit similar crimes in every conflict it fights.

Russia’s military, as we have seen these past five weeks, is a mess: Seemingly leaderless in Ukraine, it cannot even effectively maneuver against its opponent, much less carry out a coherent terror campaign against Ukrainian civilians.

Our own military, by contrast, is much better led. It is better organized too, and we recruit, train, and equip our troops with more thought and care than the Russians do.

But we’re lying to ourselves if we think that our troops cannot commit the same heinous crimes Russian troops are committing today. On an individual level, an American is no more morally perfect than his or her Russian counterpart. The difference is how each military organization responds to criminality.