>>And Israel is not trying to kill Palestinians. It has done everything that it can possibly do to keep from harming civilians. This is most definitely the case with Hamas. And it is because of Hamas that innocent blood is being shed.

Just curious... if we can agree that Palestinians most likely and for the most part are human beings who would rather see their communities succeed than be bombed: why do they tolerate Hamas thugs in their midst? Are they afraid of Hamas, or how is it that terrorists are able to hide amongst civilians to strike at Israeli towns? Answer that question and it may not be necessary to bomb the civilians- especially if the bombing is part of the answer to the question.

IMHO the idea of a "viper in your midst" community is flawed. Bill mentioned the quite recent absolute certainty that Northern Ireland never could be at peace until every Protestant was gone, or vice versa: but when it came to it, the Irish turned out to be human beings whose support for sectarian violence evaporated at the same rate at which prosperity increased. In the end a ceasefire was needed or else a gaggle of sad old men would have been reduced to shooting at each other and hiding from their own communities that are sick of the nuisance. Some people may call that folksy advice, but actually it's proven true more often than killing civilians unless you want them to be afraid of you and resentful, rather than willing to live peacefully next door.