Most of you probably have not heard of Baitullah Mehsud. He’s the top Taliban leader in Pakistan. Defense Department intelligence reports that Mehsud is buying children as young as 7 years old to serve as suicide bombers against American, Pakistani and Afghan targets. The price to purchase one of these children ranges from $7,000 to $14,000 in a country where the average income is $2,600 a year. An unnamed Defense Department official has described Mehsud’s operation as a “production output not unlike the way Toyota outputs cars.” Stories like this show the true nature of the enemy we are fighting and the evil ideology they espouse.

Fortunately, the U.S. military and Pakistani Army are actively pursuing Mehsud. Because of his status in the Taliban hierarchy, he is one of the most-sought terrorists. Just last week, Mehsud barely escaped an attack by a U.S. drone that killed approximately 80 people who were attending a funeral in Pakistan’s tribal region. U.S. officials were watching the funeral via live video feed on the drone. This near-miss is the closest we have come to getting Mehsud in nearly a year.

I hope we hear in the coming weeks that Mehsud has been eliminated before he destroys the lives of more innocent children, Afghan and Pakistani Muslims and American soldiers.