Um we did NOT bomb NV cities to rubble, the wrecked cities were on the South side. I''ve been told that if LBJ had run the Linebacker and Linebacker II bombings of Haiphong harbor in 1966 rather than 1972, before Ho Chi Minh got the roads working, the North would have had to ask for armistice becasue the bulk of their supplies came by sea at that time.
When they say we were too easy with our bombing they are comparing it to the German and Japanese air wars of 1945. There are United States Strategic Bombing Surveys online, I found a site with summaries up but it gives titles you can google to read in depth:
"Total civilian casualties in Japan, as a result of 9 months of air attack, including those from the atomic bombs, were approximately 806,000. Of these, approximately 330,000 were fatalities. These casualties probably exceeded Japan's combat casualties which the Japanese estimate as having totaled approximately 780,000 during the entire war. The principal cause of civilian death or injury was burns. Of the total casualties approximately 185,000 were suffered in the initial attack on Tokyo of 9 March 1945. Casualties in many extremely destructive attacks were comparatively low. Yokahoma, a city of 900,000 population, was 47 percent destroyed in a single attack lasting less than an hour. The fatalities suffered were less than 5,000.
The Japanese had constructed extensive firebreaks by tearing down all houses along selected streets or natural barriers. The total number of buildings torn down in this program, as reported by the Japanese, amounted to 615,000 as against 2,510,000 destroyed by the air attacks themselves. These firebreaks did not effectively stop the spread of fire, as incendiaries were dropped on both sides of the breaks. They did, however, constitute avenues of escape for the civilian population. "
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/USSBS/PTO-Summary.html#thamotjc
and Yokohama got off lightly, some Japanese cities had fires that consumed 95% of the city area.
The core joke of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is that of course no civilization would develop personal computers with instant remote database recovery, and then waste this technology to find good drinks.
Steve Jobs has ruined this joke.