There's a difference between invading a country and using surgical strikes to decapitate the senior leadership of a terrorist group that has bombed places from Istanbul to London to Jakarta.
I don't think most of Europe would be against a limited attack like Obama has hypothesized, nor would most of the rest of the world. The main difference is that Obama would represent a shift to a more inclusive foreign policy, and 'coalitions' put together under his Administration might actually be meaningful. Despite all the cries to the contrary for the sake of the news cycle, the rest of the presidential candidates, past and present (Clinton, McCain, Edwards, Romney) have all stated at various times that they would do the same.
As an aside, the US is already attacking Pakistani territory with Predator drones, it's just that it's with tacit permission from the Pakistani government. I read one report that alikened it to how the Vietnam War spread to Cambodia and Laos secretly.
Even when used as a flippant example to provide a counter-point to McCain's hawkishness, the Pakistani flareup only servers to further dilute the real issues and contrasts at play in this campaign.
I don't think most of Europe would be against a limited attack like Obama has hypothesized, nor would most of the rest of the world. The main difference is that Obama would represent a shift to a more inclusive foreign policy, and 'coalitions' put together under his Administration might actually be meaningful. Despite all the cries to the contrary for the sake of the news cycle, the rest of the presidential candidates, past and present (Clinton, McCain, Edwards, Romney) have all stated at various times that they would do the same.
As an aside, the US is already attacking Pakistani territory with Predator drones, it's just that it's with tacit permission from the Pakistani government. I read one report that alikened it to how the Vietnam War spread to Cambodia and Laos secretly.
Even when used as a flippant example to provide a counter-point to McCain's hawkishness, the Pakistani flareup only servers to further dilute the real issues and contrasts at play in this campaign.