My Obama Wishlist (part 2 of 6)

Continue unmanned drone attacks in Pakistan
While this policy might only marginally fit into the framework of “a list of policy goals Obama shouldn’t forget about” (hopefully military operations always take some sort of temporal precedence), Obama should nevertheless continue the Bush administration’s robotic violations of sovereignty to attack bad guys in Pakistan.

Sometime in the past, U.S. unmanned aerial drones began entering Pakistani airspace, hovering around, and performing targeting missile strikes on insurgent targets. Six al-Qaida leaders have thus far been killed by the attacks.

Yes, these drone attacks reek of G.W. Bush’s lack of concern for national sovereignty and bilateral cooperation. But the attacks have been surprisingly effective both in terms of killing targets and reducing civilian casualties, especially compared with traditional ground assaults.

Opponents of the attacks have pointed to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari’s vocal denouncements of the policy as evidence that these types of operations are not conducive to the international cooperation required to sustain a global war on terror. But recent reports have concluded that these denouncements are simply the product of a tacit deal between the U.S. and Pakistan; according to DeYoung and Warrick of the Washington Post, Pakistan agreed to allow the attacks as long as it could loudly complain to appease its population. Deceptive? Sure. But an inventive, narrowly-tailored, and effective policy? Yes. Obama should continue these strikes, which may represent the terror-fighting future.