batvette first things first i'm not the least bit sure that the usaf's air force historical studies office which is headquartered at the pentagon meets the criteria for wp npov indeed i suggest that it is very appropriate to use caution regarding any weight attributed to the usaf's analysis of actions performed by the usaf see wp conflict of interest especially as it regards to such controversial operations the usaf investigating the actions of the usaf are akin to the police investigating the conduct of police officers heavy bias is inevitable further more it may be argued that such a source violates wp primary source batvette the air force historical society sic analysis of dresden firebombing that you have provided place's some emphasis on the military value of dresden as a target for strategic bombing it refers to dresden's value as a transport and communications hub see para ii it also refers to s pecific military installations in dresden in february included barracks and hutted camps and at least one munitions storage depot see para ii perversely one of the arguments suggested for legitimising the bombing was the fact that dresden was protected by antiaircraft defenses antiaircraft guns and searchlights see para i'm not at all sure what to make of that bizarre reference i have c p a relevant section from the wikipaedia page on the dresden firebombing please note i have no idea what the rule is on c ping the content of another wikipaedia article to the talkpage of another wikipaedia article if this is a breach of any wikipaedia policy please feel free to let me know unless you're my stalker the historian alexander mckee has cast doubt on the meaningfulness of the list of targets mentioned in usaaf report and point out that the military barracks listed as a target were a long way out of town and not in fact targeted during the raid mckee p the 'hutted camps' mentioned in the report as military targets were also not military but were provided for refugees it is also pointed out that the important autobahn bridge to the west of the city was not targeted or attacked and that no railway stations were on the british target maps nor were the bridges such as the railway bridge spanning the elbe river mckee pp commenting on this alexander mckee stated that the standard whitewash gambit both british and american is to mention that dresden contained targets x y and z and to let the innocent reader assume that these targets were attacked whereas in fact the bombing plan totally omitted them and thus except for one or two mere accidents they escaped mckee p mckee further asserts the bomber commanders were not really interested in any purely military or economic targets which was just as well for they knew very little about dresden the raf even lacked proper maps of the city what they were looking for was a big built up area which they could burn and that dresden possessed in full measure mckee p according to historian sonke neitzel it is difficult to find any evidence in german documents that the destruction of dresden had any consequences worth mentioning on the eastern front the industrial plants of dresden played no significant role in germany industry at this stage in the war addison chapter the city under attack by sonke neitzel p wing commander h r allen said the final phase of bomber command's operations was far and away the worst traditional british chivalry and the use of minimum force in war was to become a mockery and the outrages perpetrated by the bombers will be remembered a thousand years hence mckee p quotes h r allen the legacy of lord trenchard in the north of dresden there were remarkable military facilities which were not hit by the bombings today they are still there used as officer education buildings for the german bundeswehr and hosting germany's military historic museum from stone age to modern times batvette the above comments come from wp rs that are significantly more npov than the usaf's air force historical studies office regardless claiming that us culpability for its involvement in the dresden firebombing was mitigated because it focused its bombing on the marshalling yards is a bit like the arsonist claiming that she's innocent of murder because she only intended to set fire to the relatively u