SNIP
>So exactly what is the difference between the US training teenagers to go out & kill people and the terrorists training teenagers to go out & kill people. Apart from the uniform & rates of pay.

This is the most ridiculous comment I have seen you post to date. While I may agree with you on many issues and respect your right to your opinion, comments like the above are almost too ridulous to be taken seriously.

I went through military training in this country and served for many years including in G3 Planning. I can say from experience that our military does not train to kill civilians-in fact you are taught about war crimes and the geneva conventions. Now we do have many special operations troops whose assignments have been more than questionable, but in those cases the assignments were outside the purpose of the troops.

Having said that:

1. Our military does not intentionaly target non-combatants. Granted, there are many mistakes, accidents, and what our government considers 'acceptable levels of collateral damage,' but doctrine is to never intentionally hit a purely civilian target. Terrorists on the other hand, intentionally target civilian targets and that is their goal.
2. Our military is there as a protection for our government, our country, and our way of life (included in that is also our interests which is the one area I disagree with), terrorists are not protecting a government or a country ON BEHALF of that country. No country or government, including Yassir Arafat, publicly supports terrorists.
3. Our government and its leaders are responsible for the assignments our military undertakes. While they are able on many occasions to 'sweep it under the rug' for political reasons, they are ultimately responsible. What government is responsible for the assignments the terrorists undertake? Who answers for it?