I think the difference is that the suicide bomber starts his mission with the intent of causing as much collateral damage as possible (bystanders). The military folks start their mission with the intent of targetting enemies (armed/unarmed, but still not general populous). Granted there is collateral damage in both instances, but the intent of harming innocents is not the core goal of a US soldier on duty. When you get shot at, you'll pull the trigger and point the barrel at moving things. Unfortunately it may be a child. The suicide bomber will blow up a schoolbus on purpose.
In both instances they are trying to provide some form of advancement for a suffering population. I don't agree with the suicide bombers, as they injure non-combatants, and in reality harm their aspirations. The Israeli's commit horrible crimes against the entire Palistinian population, but that crime against humanity is buried by the outcry caused by the suicide bombers. If in fact, the Palistinians documented the abuse, children being squished by tanks etc... and made sure the world saw what was occuring, while taking the high road and not perpetrating more, they would be much further ahead in their goals. Easy to say, when I haven't had a child shot by a sniper, had my wife beaten and humiliated at a checkpoint, had my home destroyed, or my land confiscated.
The worst thing I think now, is the recent release of the abuse going on in the Iraqi prisons by US & British forces. That is the best recruiting material for fanatics ever.
While we read that the president is "disgusted" and there will be an investigation in the local media, in the mid-east media they are listing the exact crimes as listed in the Geneva Convention commited. If folks want to really understand the fallout of this mess, don't read MSNBC or CNN, that shit is not what joe-muslim reads. If you want to understand what that shit is really causing, you need to read Bahrain-times, Tehran-times, Gulf Daily News etc... Remember, those folks watch Al Jazeera while you watch CNN. Each provides the appropriate spin for their customer base. Just as many folks here are happy and content to have their opinion provided by their favorite news organizations personal slant(saves the trouble of thinking for ones self), the same occurs elsewhere. And their slant is pretty harsh, especially now. Isolated or not, these incidents are the last thing we needed, after Bush gave Sharon a green light to do as he pleases with the Palistinians.
