That's because only the Good Guys(tm) have Hellfires, Apaches and Tomahawks to fire at will. The Good Guys also have restraint - the US won't send a cruise miss

That's because only the Good Guys(tm) have Hellfires, Apaches and Tomahawks to fire at will. The Good Guys also have restraint - the US won't send a cruise missile into an apartment complex in Islamabad, for instance - and only attack people who are both in a war zone and lack public support. The scary thing about covert assassinations is that they could happen anywhere and be committed by anyone (IMO the "anyone" part is the key bit for differentiating "war" and "murder"), whereas large-scale strikes are carried out by political figures who are (presumably) accountable for their actions.