Let’s have incursions and strikes into Pakistan without their permission!  What’s the worst that could happen?  Oh, right:

Pakistani and American ground troops exchanged fire along the border with Afghanistan on Thursday after the Pakistanis shot at two American helicopters, ratcheting up tensions as the United States increases its attacks against Qaeda and Taliban militants sheltering in Pakistan’s restive tribal areas.

There is an unhappy pattern in Pakistani history of its military launching actions while its civilian leaders are elsewhere.  Zardari was in New York at the U.N. as of yesterday, so perhaps the military thought it could freelance a bit more while he was gone.  This is reminiscent of the attempted escalation of the Kargil war by Musharraf while Sharif was here meeting with Clinton, but there are the crucial differences that the Pakistanis warned us not to enter their territory without their permission and the Pakistanis will argue that they are repelling incursions rather than launching them.  However, the internal political dynamic seems to be similar.  Does anyone want to keep arguing that the administration’s policy here is sound?