E, thank you for dotting the "i". <eom>
Let me fill out the historical context, lest there be new misunderstandings on that score as well.
Most armies, throughout history, were not paid. They were expected to scavenge, to "live off the land". At one point, there was an unwritten rule that cities, when captured, were "given over" to the soldiery for a period of five days, during which they could slash, pillage, burn (and rape) to their heart's content.
Once I actually heard that rule cited in a modern conflict (the Chechen War). The Russian soldiers (who were very badly fed) looted like crazy when they took Grozny (although to their credit they rarely , if ever, raped). I remember several people (ethnic Russians themselves) who tried to justify it by saying the soldiers were entitled to their five days. They did not seem to be aware that such behavior is no longer accepted, and is indeed specifically outlawed by the Geneva Conventions.
Joan
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