It is unsettling to note that the United States seems to be more concerned about potential military casualties rather than actual civilian deaths in its campaign against terror, aiming at Afghanistan for now.

Deliberately killing civilians at any time is murder.

Hence, terrorist attacks like that of Sept 11 are acts of murder.

By that definition, Palestinian suicide bombings that have targetted and killed Israeli civilians are acts of murder; so are the deliberately indiscriminate Israeli military actions that have resulted in civilian Palestinian deaths, and, lest anyone forget, so were the use of nuclear weapons on Nagasaki and Hiroshima by the US.

Some argue that the bombings that have caused civilian deaths in Afghanistan are also acts of murder. The US says that these deaths were unintentional, and many people say they should be given the benefit of the doubt.

But in their defence of bombings that have caused so-called "collateral damage", the US has accused the Taliban of, among other things, seeking cover or hiding among civilians in public places such as markets and mosques to deliberately draw American fire on the civilians.

While many would regard this as a dirty and cowardly tactic on the part of the Taliban, the American military's rather swift insistence on going ahead with the bombing of the "human shield"-wielding militiamen calls into question the supposed care that the US is taking to avoid civilian casualties.

Should you bomb a building containing Taliban militiamen when, at the same time, the bulk of its occupants - civilians - are inside the building?

Let's assume that the US finds the exact location of Osama bin Laden; a location where, besides hiding with his men, he also provides clothing, food and shelter to hundreds of fleeing refugees seeking safety from the bombings, Taliban-Northern Alliance fighting, and the harsh winter climate.

Osama would then, in effect, be using, intentionally or otherwise, a human shield.

I ask malaysiakini readers: What do you think the US would do then?