Good

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I have real problems with the use of drones. I can understand their occasional requirement, but they can easily make matters worse and at heart the numbers of civilians killed brings into question whether we are on any moral ground higher than Al Qaeda's leaders when we use them widely. So this at least has some good news:

One person standing in the way of expanded missile strikes: President Obama. Five administration officials tell NEWSWEEK that the president has sided with political and diplomatic advisers who argue that widening the scope of the drone attacks would be risky and unwise. Obama is concerned that firing missiles into urban areas like Quetta, where intelligence reports suggest that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and other high-level militants have sometimes taken shelter, would greatly increase the risk of civilian casualties.