Come join the He-Man American Haters Club

Thanks to our gang of "brain surgeons" in the Bush administration, who seem to believe that precision airstrikes on small villages full of women and children make for positive propaganda in the Middle East, the number of people intent on hating - and possibly attacking - the U.S. continues to grow at an astounding rate.

Pakistani officials said Saturday that a U.S. missile strike intended to kill al Qaeda deputy Ayman Zawahiri had missed its target but had killed 17 people, including six women and six children.

Tens of thousands of Pakistanis staged an angry anti-American protest near the remote village of Damadula, about 120 miles northwest of Islamabad, where Friday's attack took place. According to witnesses, the demonstrators shouted "Death to America" and "Death to Musharraf" -- referring to Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf -- and the offices of at least one U.S.-backed aid organization were ransacked and set ablaze.

If they really want to win the "war on terror" - which I'm beginning to doubt - then they need to come up with a different strategy. Maybe it's just me, but killing innocent women and children doesn't seem like a particularly effective way to win the hearts and minds of South Asians. Call me crazy, but aren't these the people we hope would recognize the goodness and benevolence of the great democracy known as the United States of America? Kind of tough to do that if we keep killing them, don't ya think?

Last time I checked, many supporters of President Bush were ardent supporters of the death penalty. If someone kills another human being, these people believe that the perpetrator should be put to death. And many of them aren't shy about their support for execution.

Now, you may ask, what does an errant bombing in Pakistan have to do with Republicans' support for the death penalty? Well, let's give some thought to this for a moment.

John Doe in Houston, Texas, breaks into a home in the Bel Air section of town and shoots to death the family that lives there because they got in the way of his burglary. Naturally, the Republican loved ones of the family - who are royally pissed off at what happened - want to see justice done, and that means putting the dirty SOB to death. No ifs, ands or buts. Kill the bastard.

On the flip side, let's say that the United States drops a bomb on a small village in Pakistan and kills over a dozen women and children. Naturally, the loved ones of those killed are royally pissed off at what happened. They want to see justice done, and that means getting back at the United States. No ifs, ands or buts. Kill the bastards.

Hmmmm. See any similarities? I thought so.

Larry Johnson, ex-CIA, at NO QUARTER lamented last week that a strategy of "precision" air strikes is just asking for trouble. And if the U.S. doesn't figure out a way to accomplish its objectives (whatever they may be) without killing innocent bystanders, then this neo-con fantasy of a democratized, pro-West, pro-United States Middle East will die a slow, painful death...and remain nothing more than a ridiculous fantasy.

At the moment, this "war on terror" is doing nothing but giving more and more people reasons to hate us and to see us die. Is that what we want?