Its war—and war is hell. Why don’t the Rebels surrender to Assad ? Lee that to surrender to Grant didn’t he? Ever see pictures of Richmond when it fell—looked a lot like Berlin 1945. You can’t be humaine in a war—sorry—its not like that and it hasn’t been for ages.
“You can’t be humane in a war—sorry—its not like that and it hasn’t been for ages.”
When you make a war humane your enemy will persevere and eventually defeat you using the most inhumane techniques he has available. This does not mean target civilians intentionally but it does mean the presence of civilians is not a factor in your choice of targets. In the case of total war the civilian population is a legitimate target as they are part of the war machine of the enemy.
IN WWII the USA and Britain used bombing raids that burned cities to the ground. We also nuked Japan. The tactic was brutal and it worked.