Whenever Israel or the United States or the government of Sudan kills some scores of civilians with bombs or rockets we will hear this well worn excuse:

Of course we respect the sanctity of human life and we make every attempt to avoid civilian casualties but we are not really at fault for the recent bombings of __________. Our unscrupulous opponents have brought this down on their people by hiding among the civilian population.

Which presents a rather interesting idea of armed conflict. Are we really asking our enemies to return to medieval warfare where an army marched out to the field and gave challenge? Do we really expect the Serbs or Hamas to march out into an open field with their automatic weapons and mortars and await obliteration by cluster bombs?

It also leads Wonks Anonymous to speculate: It is in fact true that most Israeli men, and some number of Israeli women, are members of the Israel Defense Force, on active duty or in reserve. This organization has been known to attack, oppress and kill Palestinians throughout the Middle East. Do these soldiers automatically become civilians when they take off their uniforms? Or could the bombing of a restaurant be justified because, along with the civilian carnage created, it killed IDF gunmen?

Not advocating anything of the sort, just asking people to try this on and see how it feels.