A drone a day

Obama's drone war in Pakistan keeps escalating, and according to Pakistan, keeps missing. One can understand why Obama does so, for all its inaccuracies, it is risk free, it gives the little cowardly prick a sense of power that he otherwise lacks, and he can pretend that it will help win in Afghanistan. All wrong, of course, but that has never dissuaded him from anything in the past.

Pakistan Gen. Kayani has been one of Washington's most faithful lapdogs since he took over the army, but he must have been forced to speak out this time:

Gen. Ashfaq Kayani said an unmanned U.S. Predator drone had earlier Thursday "carelessly and callously targeted" a peaceful meeting of elders in North Waziristan, a Pakistani tribal region and Taliban stronghold.

"In complete violation of human rights, such acts of violence take us away from our objective of elimination of terrorism," Gen. Kayani said in a statement. Pakistan had officially protested the strike, he said.

In typical fashion, the US replied in the most insulting tone possible:

A U.S. official dismissed the criticism of the strike. "These guys were terrorists, not the local men's glee club," the official said.

Naturally, the official remains nameless.

Just as in the Davis case, we can expect that the Pakistan government and army will get over their snit as soon as public opinion moves on. But propping up a corrupt subservient clique is a game that will run out of time. And when it does, the US will find itself with an enemy that will be beyond its power to control.