In my opinion the US of A's and Britain's bombing campaigns against Germany and Japan were terrorism and mass murder. While it doesn't make us as bad as Nazis and Imperialist Japan, it makes our leaders at that time pretty close. Not just Dresden, but Tokyo, and tons of cities in Europe were bombed with the intent of killing large amounts of the population and instilling fear and an unwillingness to fight. We barely touched the industrial zones most times, and production always shot up afterward. We destroyed their history, their culture, their lives, and their morale. We took it from waging a war on Hitler to terrorizing and massacring the French and German population, as well as many Central Europeans. Dresden, like with the A-bombings was done to demonstrate to the world (and Russia in particular I think) what could be done with a strategic bombing campaign. I don't think that it reflects badly on the American and British people (who I have no doubt would not have let it happen if they had known the motivations and methods) who had no choice in the matter, but on the (liberals coincidently) corrupt political and military leaders who planned and authorized it.
I think it serves as a good lessen as to why people in free countries around the world should be a lot more vigilant, and a lot more careful of whom they elect.