Really? Ya Think?

Analysis: US must limit Afghan civilian deaths

You might think this is a no-brainer from every conceivable moral and ethical angle. This is, of course, not the reason the military brass is considering the possibility of not slaughtering innocent people limiting civilian deaths. No, indeedy. There's an important reason.

Gates emphasized the imperative of avoiding civilian casualties, calling the deaths "one of our greatest strategic vulnerabilities."

Yeah, it probably took Alexander the Great a while to figure it out, too: Dead Afghanis invariably have lots of live relatives. Heavily armed, vengeful, live relatives. Whose actions subsequently become indistinguishable from those of the people you say you're there to fight.

It probably didn't take him eight years to figure it out, but I'm sure it took time. Way to go, anyhow.