Yes the end result is the same -- the tragedy of innocent lives lost, no matter the race or nationality or religion. I'm not going to try to justify or defend war in-general or especially war atrocities... However, the "collateral damages" of war can be explained. No less of a tragedy. But I don't know how you explain this. An accidental murder of even one child is a tragedy and a difficult thing to comprehend, but this is way beyond that. This deliberate act is 20 times worse than a drunk or texting driver who carelessly kills someone accidentally, and even worse than "collateral damages" of war because these children and teachers were targeted deliberately.

This was very close to home for me Rob; one of my co-workers' son attends that school (and fortunately survived unhurt). Reminds me of the shock I felt after 9/11 but on a smaller scale. (Both of my children had been to the observation deck at top of the WTC on 9/9/2001, two days before the 9/11/attack. I also had a close call for the first WTC bombing... I had walked through the lobby of the Vista Hotel about 18 minutes before the bomb blew up the lobby. The people in that lobby were killed. The bomb was in a truck parked in the garage below.) It feels more real when it's close to home... a close call makes you really understand the randomness of these attacks and how it could just as easily have been your child or mine: "There, but for the grace, go I".

As a father and member of the human community -- My heart goes out to the families of every innocent murdered.