Twelve years later, however, the accuracy has improved to such an extent that military engineers now have a seat at the table, giving pilots very specific instructions for bomb placement.

LT. Dave McAlister, in Iraq attached to the First Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) Engineer Group, assisted in prewar target selection for bridges in Iraq. As far as he knows, it is the first time that the military has used its structural engineers as part of the target selection process. "We want to seize the asset, but we want to destroy as little infrastructure as possible," he says. "It's important to deny the enemy the use of the bridge, but this war is really about liberation, not killing people or destroying infrastructure. We also want to repair and return it to service as soon as possible, once the area is secured."