Who was that group of people?
Also, that's not us taking Fallujah. That was the first operation. It was unsuccessful.
Air support was used, when our ground efforts weren't working too well. The "policing" element wasn't working, and the insurgents gained a foothold in that city.
It's easy to sit on the sidelines and say "why...how could the military kill innocent people"...they're not wearing a fucking "innocent person" button on their shirt, that tells you they aren't an insurgent. The enemy shields itself in schools, behind hospitals, in mosques...they hide themselves amongst the population.
On top of that....you gotta make a split second decision. You've told people to stay in their homes...or leave the city. You see a large group of people running up the street.....do you want to take the risk of having one of your patrols ambushed?
War is hell.