Pakistani Taliban chief killed in CIA missile strike

I did not realize that these things were launched by throwing them in the air like one of those balsa wood planes I had as a kid.

That is pretty amazing. I imagine javelin throwers will be in high demand as we start to use more predators.

 

There's a book out there called "Lone Survivor," about a SEAL operation that went blooey in Afghanistan. Three of the four SEAL team members were killed while hunting for a Taliban leader. The guy who survived was wounded and only lived because the Afghans who found him protected him from other Taliban.
In the book, though, the guy who survived (Marcus Luttrell) talks about the lead-up to the mission and what kind of planning goes into it. They get hundreds and thousands of leads, all sorts of intel. Then they have to sift through the bullshit and figure out where a target is GOING to be, not where they were three days or a week ago. They might get a confirmed tip that Bin Laden was in Village A last Saturday, but it doesn't do them any good if he's 50 miles away in Village B tonight. Even if you find out he's going to be in Village B tonight, you might not be able to put a mission together quick enough.
Add to that anyone whose found to have ratted out Bin Laden is going to end up with an AK-47 round in their beheaded skull, and it's not as simple as strolling through the mountains of Afghanistan yelling, "YOO-HOO!! OSAMA!! COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE!!"