I don't understand people who say this, I really don't.

If I were to say "the US is capable of nuking Iraq and killing most of their civilians", that would just be a true statement of the capabilities of the US. That they chose not to do so during the Iraq war is proof of something about the US's intentions.

It's proof of the value that the US places on human lives, despite it sometimes costing the US dearly.

Of course I think nuking Iraq would've been unconscionable, for many reasons. For the same reasons that the US chose not to do it, obviously. But pointing that out is just plain old logic.

Acting otherwise doesn't add anything to the conversation.