By Andrew L. Jaffee

Reports are circulating that a U.S. Predator drone killed Abu Laith al-Libi, “one of the top al-Qaida operatives in Afghanistan,” in Pakistan’s wild-west Waziristan province. al-Libi is one of America’s 12 most-wanted terrorists — well, at least he was. According to the Canadian Press:

… The killing of such a major al-Qaida figure is likely to embarrass President Pervez Musharraf, who has repeatedly said he would not sanction U.S. military action against al-Qaida members believed to be regrouping in the lawless area near the Afghan border. …

Musharraf has been unwilling to clean up Pakistan’s wild-west for his own political reasons. But recently we’ve found out about his true colors, as he either explicitly ordered Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, or passively allowed it to happen (same difference). This man is not the “friend” many of us once thought him to be. It is time for the U.S. to clean up Pakistan’s tribal areas once and for good, with or without the help of Musharraf, for the sake of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and America herself.