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DoD Photo: Matthew Leary, U.S. Army

1st Sgt. David Christopher and Staff Sgt. Gordon Campbell
of the U.S. Army’s Task Force Fury stand by after setting
fire to a Taliban shelter along the Pakistan-Afghanistan
border, March 30, 2007.

One month after her debut as Sen. John McCain’s political other half, I honestly have yet to hear much from the mouth of Sarah Palin that I can agree with. And that is in spite of her coy efforts at appearing far more moderate than she actually is. I like to think I am not as gullible as some.

Yet I find myself in near-agreement with Palin’s recent highly controversial remarks that the U.S. should pursue terrorists in Pakistan — if necessary, even without that nation’s consent.  I should note that, incidentally, back when Sen. Barack Obama articulated a very similar stance last year, he was ridiculed by the very critics now defending Palin’s comment.

Interestingly, McCain disagrees with his own running mate on this matter. He is wise, however, in cautioning against any public forewarning that could jeopardize the outcome, should such an operation become necessary.

Few issues are as critical to the future security of this country as this matter of national sovereignty, as it relates to the ongoing fight against terrorism. The national debate this issue has begun is an important one, and its outcome will help form the core of the incoming administration’s approach to foreign policy.

What I will concede to those who disagree with the chase-em-down-wherever-they-go approach is this: violating any nation’s sovereignty in order to hunt down known terrorists should always — always — occur only with rock-solid intelligence, and even then only as a very last resort when the host government refuses to cooperate or to take sufficient action on its own.

Unfortunately, after receiving $10.8 billion in total U.S. aid since 2001 — including $6 billion in direct military aid in order to battle the very elements that brought us 9-11 — Pakistan may well be exactly such a case.

In return for our blank-check investment, we have received little more than lip service, token raids and a few high-profile suspects from this so-called staunch ally against terrorism. U.S. officials sheepishly have admitted that a significant portion of that U.S. aid has been diverted instead to beef-up Pakistan’s defenses in its age-long face-off with India.

The result is that both al Qaeda and the Taliban today continue operating from their safe haven in Pakistan’s remote mountainous tribal region, with experts warning that the former is at least as strong today as on that September day seven long years ago.

The ability of Pakistan’s newly elected president to change that is dubious. And in the post-Musharraf era, the fragility with which he governs must be considered as well — both to ensure the stability of a democratically elected government and to safeguard that country’s nuclear arms from falling into the hands of terrorists or their sympathizers.

Foreign Policy magazine’s online edition this week posted an insightful analysis of the sovereignty issue by Lionel Beehner, formerly of the Council on Foreign Relations. The column provides several well-reasoned points that hopefully will be taken into account by whomever wins the presidential race next month.

Don’t count on Gov. Palin reviewing it, however. Her elusive answer when prompted by CBS News anchor Katie Couric this week to name a few newspapers or magazines she regularly reads to stay informed?  “I’ve read most of ‘em.”

Given two additional chances to elaborate, Palin was unable to name a single mainstream news source often found in her reading basket. Instead, she only repeated variations of her puzzlingly vague answer — once even venturing slightly further than her initial reply with, “All of ‘em.”

Not at all reassuring to those of us hoping for a more informed administration than the current one.