"Everybody else did it so that made it okay if we did it."

No. The determination of innocence or guilt does not work that way. Furthermore, the great majority of bombings before that point were strategic bombings targeting strategic locations but NOT deliberately targeting densely-populated residential neighborhoods. LeMay *knew* that those sections of the city held little if any strategic importance.

You call it "looking back and condemning a single party." I call it holding one's own to account. We are not responsible for what other nations did or did not do, but we ARE responsible for what we do.

Reagan once referred to America as a shining city on a hill. One would expect that to reach such a status, one must hold oneself and one's fellow citizens to a higher standard. This is especially true of the military, and during my 20-year career I saw time and time again instances where we held ourselves to a higher standard of conduct than that to which civilians are held. It's *crucial* that we do so, for if we don't, then we're no longer that shining city on a hill, but just another nation throwing its weight around just because it can.