America’s heartless terrorism
Killing people like insects
But honor doesn’t fear power.

These sobering lines making the rounds in some parts of Pakistan raise troubling questions about our use of drones to bomb extremists in that country’s tribal regions. (See Mark Mazzetti’s “The Downside of Letting Robots Do the Bombing” in today’s New York Times.) While I am not sure how to interpret them, I am reminded of how effective the rhetoric of honor was for the insurgency in Iraq, until the U.S. developed a more hands-on approach under General Petraeus. I’m not trying to make a policy suggestion, mind you. Iraq and Afghanistan are two very different places. I am simply struck by the powerful role that an injured sense of honor can play among populations that might feel like David in the face of Goliath.