There was and is no military justification for bombing civilians. The allied could have bombed the railways, and not the inner city. In addition, everybody knew that the Nazis were never going to surrender, because they wanted the German nation to share their personal fate (death, suicide). He who continues to claim that it was alright to kill thousands of civilians shall explain me why the US Air Force did not the same with Baghdad 2003.
I think this is an important point, if true. Were the railway centers located outside of the center of the city? Or, would it have been possible given the level of technology available during WWII, to disable the railways without bombing the entire city of Dresden?
There was no such thing as precision bombing in the 1940s.
You simply saturated the target area.
The bombing of Dresden was not specifically targeted at civilians but at the city as a transportation hub.
The allied could have bombed the railways, and not the inner city.
You can't bomb a railway - i.e. you can't bomb an eight-foot wide target with dumb bombs at night from 4,000 feet. You need to go after stations, interchanges and rolling stock. Most of which were located in the central city.
In addition, everybody knew that the Nazis were never going to surrender, because they wanted the German nation to share their personal fate (death, suicide).
They surrendered six weeks after Dresden was bombed, didn't they? That's interesting.
He who continues to claim that it was alright to kill thousands of civilians shall explain me why the US Air Force did not the same with Baghdad 2003.
There have been some slight advances in technology in the past 60 years. The Allied bombers over Dresden didn't have infrared or GPS or smart bombs.
Additionally, the USAF was supporting ground troops who were pretty confident in their ability to totally crush the Iraqi ground forces. The Republican Guard was not exactly the Wehrmacht, after all.
As to the USAF in Bagdad you might want to read the report the Lancet put out today ( most of which is rubbish), collateral damage happens even with todays advanced technology.
From a military standpoint the bombing of civilian targets is counter productive as the Germans found out when they swithched bombing RAF bases in southern England to bomb London in 1940. Had they persevered the outcome of the Battle of Britain might have been quite different.