We must not sink to their level.
We do not target noncombatants. That's an important part of what makes us better than them. And the fact that we are better than them is the reason we deserve to win.
It may well be that there are precious few real noncombatants. Evidence suggests that the people are fanatical, like the Japanese were. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. At the very least we should repeatedly solicit, and be prepared to accept, the unconditional surrender of the general populace. Only the actual killers and their superiors need be exterminated. And this surrender must be unconditional, because of what must be done to their culture immediately afterward. When there was something to discuss, they chose mass murder. Now there is nothing to discuss.
Oh, and, destroy those poppy fields. Plow them under and plant food crops. These asshole peasants can't feed themselves but they can grow this crap?
We should emulate the enemy in their strengths: their determination, their willingness to sacrifice, their unity, their organization and their sense of purpose. But do not emulate that which makes them evil.
