Covert ops, counter-insurgency, ground assaults without government approval…
If you asked which of the above fall within the orbit of US foreign policy options the correct answer would be: ALL. Revelations surfaced this week about special units operating within Pakistan but without the approval of that government … assassination of enemies in other countries. “The situation in the tribal areas is not tolerable,” one official told the New York Times.

It’s not just Pakistan.

Seymour Hersh reported recently that US hit squads have been roaming Iran taking out so-called enemies there, too. This, Hersh reported, with direct authorization from Vice President Dick Cheney and against the advice of the military’s Joint Chiefs. In Iraq, the author of the military’s bible on Counter-Insurgency plays a prominent role - actually he’s in charge: he’s General David Petraeus. You can just imagine what's going on there. Killing enemies by any means.

Old habits die hard. Actually, they don’t die at all.