Barak Obama has said repeatedly that as President, if he had actionable intelligence about the location of al Qaida leadership in Pakistan and the Pakistanis were unable or unwilling to act, that he would authorize a military strike without the Pakistanis consent. Of course he would, any President would. But saying he would is extremely dangerous.
Bush has repeatedly launched covert operations inside Pakistan, while publicly stressing partnership and cooperation. In the case of Pakistan, it could even be argued that in certain circumstances the actions that Obama is talking about would be legal under Article 51 of the UN Charter, which allows states to take action in self defence.
