Yes it is sad. The suffering of innocents always is, but remember that here, as in Iraq, the suffering of the civilians is caused by the actions of the rulers.

If Iraq had agreed to the weapons inspections, the trade ban would have been lifted, and if Afghanistan had surrendered bin Laden, the US would not have had to bomb. Unfortunately, Taliban could not surrender bin Laden, so the result was inevitable.

I expect that as soon as bin Laden is apprehended, the US will initiate something in the order of the Marshall plan of the late 1940's to rebuild the country and get another ally in the Moslem World. All in all, a happy ending for Afghanistan.