I rather suspect that many in the North used that same line of thinking to justify, in their own minds, Sherman’s march through Georgia. They laid waste to fields and barns and homes, leaving Southern women and children to starve. Life itself was considered a military target. It was a government decision to destroy literally everything, sparing nothing and no one. It was the mid-nineteenth century version of carpet bombing. It was the beginning of the concept of Total War in which every living thing in the opponent’s land was a legitimate target.

You can look at Dresden and see only dead evil Germans – or you can see dead men, women, and children who were just as opposed to Hitler as I and others are to Obama and all those who now boast, “It’s OUR country now!”. They had as much chance to stop Hitler and his actions as I do to stop Obama and his agenda – None. They probably worked at it – as many of us have and continue to do. There were probably White Rose members (die Weiße Rose) among the incinerated of Dresden.

Yes, war is sometimes necessary, unavoidable, and right. Yes, some level of civilian deaths and collateral damage is unavoidable. We all understand that, but that’s not what Dresden was about. But then you already know that.

Suit yourself. As for me, I see Dresden (and a long string of similar actions of our government and others) in a very different light. One day, each of us will have to answer for that. I would not want to stand before God and try to justify your statement.

Members of the White Rose, Munich 1942. From left: Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Probst – all arrested by the Gestapo and beheaded in 1943.

Re: Dresden….total war goes back as least as far as Dishonest Abe and his various generals and aides who advised and carried it out against the south during his war in the furtherence of totaliarianism and maintaining the false union we have today. Ike in WWII’s aftermath did the same to German civilians after that war.