As White House Pontificates Drone Strike Kills Women and Children

From the New York Times:

The drone strike occurred Saturday afternoon in the Watapur district of Kunar Province, a stronghold for the insurgency ensconced in hard-to-access mountainous terrain. Afghan officials said the drone was targeting four insurgents who were picked up along the road by a truck with civilians in it, though reports differed on the number of passengers. Women and children were among the dead, officials said.

War is a dirty business and normally I would not comment on this but when the nation is supposed to respond to the killing of innocent women and children not only with outrage but with B52 bombers and cruise missiles it ill behooves the commander-in-chief to be personally involved in the same such killings. In this case the number of insurgents targeted was 4 but the number killed was 16. Inasmuch as the White House boasts that Obama chooses drone targets the loss of these innocent lives is on him.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the drone strike on Sunday, calling the attack on women and children against all international norms. The president did not appear to immediately wade into the debate over drones in the short statement.

Fine. It's great when a drug dealer has the moral grounds to lecture us on civilized behavior.