Gee – one would hope that the United States would have a commitment to tracking down and eliminating our terrorist enemies any time and any place. Indeed, one would think that any person who loved this country and wished to see her secure would be ecstatic about such a policy.

And yet the New York Times reports on this like it is a bad thing – breaking the story in a manner that once again discloses classified national security information to our enemies.

The U.S. military has conducted nearly a dozen secret operations against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups in Syria, Pakistan and other countries since 2004, The New York Times reported Sunday night.

Citing anonymous U.S. officials, the Times story said the operations were authorized by a broad classified order that then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld signed and President George W. Bush approved in spring 2004. The order gave the military authority to attack Al Qaeda anywhere in the world and to conduct operations in countries that were not at war with the U.S.

One such operation was an Oct. 26 raid inside Syria, the Times reported.

Washington has not formally acknowledged the raid, but U.S. officials have said the target was a top Al Qaeda in Iraq figure. Syria has asked for proof and said eight civilians were killed in the attack.

In another mission, in 2006, Navy SEALs raided a suspected terrorist compound in Pakistan's tribal areas.

The raids have typically been conducted by U.S. Special Forces, often in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency, the newspaper said. Even though the process has been streamlined, specific missions have to be approved by the defense secretary or, in the cases of Syria and Pakistan, by the president.

Let’s face it – our enemy is not a traditional nation-state as in times past. Instead they are members of an autonomous group that extends across international boundaries, at times without the knowledge and/or cooperation of the nations within which they operate. Indeed, as I pointed out some time back, the best historical analogy for terrorists is the pirate – considered the enemy of all mankind under international law and subject to the authority and jurisdiction of all nations wherever they may be found. As such, the order in question is appropriate – if one wishes to see the United States prevail in the war on terrorism…