Believe me, I know what you're coming from and I sympathize. 9/11 was cowardly, as is terrorism in general. But we can't stoop to that level or else not only is the war on terrorism pointless (because we're engaging in it), but also because the terrorists would have won.

If we're going to be the "good guys" then we have to start acting like "good guys". This especially goes toward the Iraq war where terror is a tactic among the insurgency. Everyone likes to acknowlege that this war is unlike any before it, but this administration insists on fighting it like the old ones. In this war, winning the "hearts and minds" of the populace is far more important than any military action. You can't win hearts and minds when you're imprisoning rather innocent people in Saddam's former torture chambers, torturing people, dropping phosphorus on innocents, or just shooting innocents all together.

The hard but honorable way is always better than the easy but dirty way. And in Iraq's case, we have no choice, we must take the honorable path; because the dirty path only leads to our destruction and Iraq's turmoil.

I agree with the IDF commander; I think they used excessive force. Well...not really excessive force, just the wrong kind of force in the wrong ways. And obviously for the reasons I mentioned above to Jon, such excessive force is completely unecessary and will only breed more anger toward Israel.

Lets use the rule book the terrorists use for a while? Lets not! I thought terrorism was supposed to be evil and eradicated....so we...engage in it? I don't think so; you don't fight fire with fire.

The point that they are not following any rules is exactly why we should abide by decency, morality, and the will of the international community. Otherwise we're just imperialists. Its kind of taking the notion of non-violent resistence to war (if that makes sense ). If you show the strength of abiding by morality and fighting clean while your enemies fight dirty, you will win the will of the international community, your people, and above all, we would win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.