Yeah, that's pretty much what I meant. Perhaps, I should have said it was acceptable rather than appropriate. I was, indeed, talking about national wartime protocol. Of course, it is easier to kill when the killee is dehumanized. I don't think we could do it if they weren't. The point is, as any combat vet could tell us, when one is being shot at, one shoots back and questioning the ethics of the conflict is not a practical exercise while the bullets are flying. The best we can do is to pick our wars more carefully. Iraq is a stupid war, in that it accomplishes nothing and it merely saps our fighting ability in those areas where we are really threatened.
In the best of all possible worlds, war is unknown but Dr. Pangloss was a fictional character and we live in a world, less perfect.

                               Mike