The difference being, of course, that we didn't start this war. They did. They have a culture and belief system that allows despotic rule by the Taliban. It's their tough damned luck. I would have used nukes. You can call for nuking all of "them" or you can claim to be different from "them," but you cannot claim both. If you want to nuke innocent civilians then you want the same thing the terrorists wanted when they murdered people in the WTC and Pentagon.
I don't see any of them as innocent. As I said, they have an ingrained culture that allowed the Taliban to flourish. Can you name me one Arab democracy or Constitutional Republic? Anything resembling self-government?
Those people are dangerous, they are raised to hate us, and within 10 years time, this new "government" of Afghanistan will be our enemy, too. Mark it down.
Best to insure they can never again harm a single American, wouldn't you say?