Obama Warmongering in Pakistan

2nd airstrike by a Predator within Pakistan's tribal area since President Obama took office, happened early Saturday morning as a way to send a message of love to al-Qaeda:

Today's strike is the fifth attack this year and the first since Jan. 23, when US Predators conducted attacks in North and South Waziristan. The Jan. 23 attacks took place just two days after President Barack Obama took office.

The airstrike in South Waziristan is also the first since Senator Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, disclosed that the CIA was operating a covert air base that is used to conduct the attacks inside of Pakistan. "As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base," Feinstein said after brushing off criticism and protests over the attacks.

Senator Feinstein's spokesman later claimed she was referring to a February 2008 report in the Washington Post. In September 2006, the Asia Times reported the US was operating a secret base in Tarbella, a region 12 miles outside of Islamabad.

Pakistan's defense minister rejected Feinstein's claim on Feb. 13. “We do have the facilities from where they can fly, but they are not being flown from Pakistani territory," Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said. "They are being flown from Afghanistan... I do not know on what she based all this.”

Senior officials in Pakistan's government and military, including the president, the prime minister, and the Army chief of staff, have repeatedly protested US airstrikes inside the tribal areas as violations of the country's sovereignty. The disclosure of the base puts the Pakistani officials in a difficult situation with the citizens of Pakistan.

Where are the peace activists? Why isn't Medea Benjamin making a nuisance of herself at the White House? But more importantly: Why is Dianne Feinstein such an idiot? During the previous few years, critics have blamed Bush for damaging our relations with our allies; but what really harmed cooperation with us from allies is the charge that the U.S. can't keep secrets, which results in embarrassment at the expense of our allies. This has happened with rendition programs (which continues under the Obama Administration) and the NYTimes leak of the SWIFT banking program.

How will President Obama fare on the foreign front?