The human rights report released by our State Department this week is a great example of how our government can be way out of touch with reality.

The report criticizes Israel for doing the same things our own coalition forces are now doing in Iraq — accidentally killing innocent civilians.

Here is what the report says about Israel:

"Security forces killed at least 990 Palestinians and two foreign nationals, and injured 4,392 Palestinians and other persons during the year, including innocent bystanders."

But our coalition forces in Iraq will likely beat those numbers — and it won't take them a year to do it.

The coalition is involved in the same kind of war Israel has been fighting.

Iraqis, like Palestinians, appear to be ready to give up their lives in suicide bombings. As forewarned as U.S. soldiers might be, there is little they can do to protect themselves if the enemy is suicidal.

On top of that, Iraqis, like Palestinians, are dressing as civilians rather than as uniformed soldiers. They blend in with the crowds on the streets. It's impossible to distinguish them from real civilians until they fire a weapon.

The State Department takes Israel to task for targeting and killing 37 Palestinian terror suspects.

So what's so bad about killing a terrorist? Aren't we doing that in Iraq?

The State Department also says, "Israeli forces undertook some of these targeted killings in crowded areas when civilian casualties were likely, killing 25 bystanders, including 23 children."

Will our troops be any different once they reach Baghdad?

There is no doubt the coalition forces will be involved in targeted killing. At the very least, they will target the Republican Guard. But they also will be going after Saddam Hussein's family members and the military officers closest to the Iraqi dictator.

Our effort here is not to defend the coalition forces or Israeli troops. War is ugly and should only be a last resort.

But it is unfair for Israel to be criticized for doing what our own troops are doing in Iraq. We wonder if next year's human rights report will criticize American troops. Fat chance.