Drones Save Lives

The good news is that we got two of the worst of the bad guys. Adnan Gadahn and Ahmad Farouq two longtime, high-ranking American renegade al Qaeda operators who together have been responsible for countless attacks of America and American interests are dead. 
The bad news is the accidental deaths of two innocent hostages killed in the drone strike or strikes in the Tribal Territories of Pakistan disclosed yesterday by the president, who was gracious to accept responsibility and to apologize for the loss of innocent life. 
The civilian deaths are certainly tragic…and condolences to the families of Warren Weinstein, the 73-year old aid worker from Rockville Maryland who was inadvertently killed by the apparent U.S. drone strike, along with an Italian aid worker Giovanni Lo Porto. They were aid workers, totally innocent civilian victims---collateral damage---in our never-ending world war between the largely Judeo Christian West…and the Sunni Muslim extremists based in South Asia, the Mid-East and Africa sworn to destroy our way of life and to kill as many of us as possible en route to the creation of their Caliphate, their religious empire that in their ugly dreams spans the globe. These are terrorists who booby trap, hijack, kidnap, behead, burn and use men, women and even children as suicide bombers to score points in their fight to the death against our way of life.
Collateral damage is always tragic in wartime…and before the coming of the drones it was a lot more egregiously common. We used to target entire neighborhoods in World War II to kill a high-priority target or two. Drones are much more precise, greatly reducing civilian friendly fire deaths. 
Still, the president was right to apologize to the survivors of the victims of the drone strike and to promise compensation for their loss. Our intelligence was apparently faulty, and we had no idea the good was mixed with the bad in the hideout in the ungoverned Tribal Territories. 
But we can’t stop our drone campaign against the terrorists. These unmanned aircraft armed with deadly accurate hellfire and other missiles are our best most effective weapon against religious zealots who’s base of operations in these tribal territories or in Yemen or Somalia are otherwise unreachable by our combat forces.
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I mentioned how one of the civilian victims in the attack that killed two high-ranking members of al Qaeda was Italian…And if Italy needed any more proof that it is just as vulnerable to attacks by these savages as the United States.
Just this morning Italian police are reporting the arrests of 18 people suspected of links with al Qaeda who may have been planning an attack against the Vatican, one of the prosecutors leading the probe said on Friday. 
The raids and roundups are still going on. And like the two al Qaeda suspects killed in the Pakistani drone strikes…two of Italian group, the 18 arrested today, previously worked directly with Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
The group busted in Italy today is said to be armed rich and dangerous. All of the accused lived in Italy, but they were are Pakistani or Afghan origin, and if it is proven that they were targeting the Vatican or even the pope himself that would represent a dangerous escalation in attacks on the West that should raise red flags to security services from Rome to New York.
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But back to the drones, which obviously can’t prevent attacks like this plot against the Vatican. What they can do is let al Qaeda and its off-shots and successor groups know that there is no place on earth where they can safely operate…that America’s memory is long, and if you hurt or kill Americans eventually we’re going to hurt or kill you. Don’t look up. That little model airplane may have a package special delivery from the United States.