The Definition of Overkill:

o•ver•kill |ˈōvərˌkil| noun
the amount by which destruction or the capacity for destruction exceeds what is necessary : the existing nuclear overkill.
• excessive use, treatment, or action; too much of something

The Objective:

You're looking to kill one al Qaeda operative, deputy Ayman Zawahiri, who is supposedly hiding along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border in a remote area of Pakistan (our ally). Instead of intelligently using intelligence and coordinating with the Pakistani government to find him and capture him, you rely on "iffy" information (so what else is new?) and unilaterally decide to drop God-only-knows how many bombs from the sky onto an innocent Pakistani village filled with innocent people, on the hope that the operative is there.

He isn't.

The Result:

You have instead destroyed a village, terrified its people, killed 17 of them including 6 women and 6 children, and injured countless others.

You have successfully inspired the outrage and hatred of the Pakistani people towards the U.S. -- rightfully so.

The Question:

What would we say if our government dropped a bomb on a suburb of Chicago, thereby wiping it off the face of the earth along with its inhabitants, because our government had "information" that Osama bin Laden himself was hiding there? Even if the bombs managed to kill bin Laden, would we all jump for joy and yell "mission accomplished"?

The Answer:

I surmise this is not only overkill.

It is gross incompetence and a wanton lack of regard for human life.

It is sinful--by any religious standard.

It is anti-democratic and against everything America should stand for.

It provides all the reason al Qaeda will ever need to successfully recruit more people to their cause.

And finally, it is counter to our stated objective of fighting terrorism. It is doing the opposite. It is creating more terrorists though our immoral use of terrorist tactics.

The Bigger Question:

Who is the terrorist? And who are the terrorized? When will we stand together and say, "Enough?"

See:

• U.S. Strike On Al Qaeda Top Deputy Said to Fail
  By Griff Witte and Kamran Khan
  Washington Post
• Airstrike by U.S. Draws Protests From Pakistanis
  The New York Times
• Strike Aimed at Qaeda Figure Stirs More Pakistan Protests
  The New York Times

Photo credit: Pakistani tribesmen march to protest the U.S. airstrike in Damadola, northwest of Islamabad, that targeted al Qaeda's deputy leader, Egyptian-born Ayman Zawahiri. Government officials conceded foreigners may have been in the area. (By Ali Imam -- Reuters)