"No matter what really happened during this incident, the damage is done"
Only if all you care about is what makes U.S. forces look bad and don't really care what happened. In both Iraq and Afghanistan the head-chopping and suicide bombing crowd gets off with little or no criticism from the usual suspects who wag their collective fingers when there is a chance (rightly or wrongly) to lay civilian deaths at the hands of the U.S.
Who's to say the women and children were civilians???
The Italians learned the hard way in Iraq in either 03 or 04.
"it "looks" bad because it is bad."
And as Bruce has alluded to, it's the only "bad" on your radar screen, Steve.