President Obama, speaking at the National Defense University, May 23:

The use of drones is heavily constrained. America does not take strikes when we have the ability to capture individual terrorists; our preference is always to detain, interrogate, and prosecute. America cannot take strikes wherever we choose; our actions are bound by consultations with partners, and respect for state sovereignty.

Around the time of that speech, White House sources revealed that the drone program would no longer be managed by the CIA, and would move over to the Defense Department.

Whoever is managing the drone program, the results look pretty much the same.

Since that speech:

May 29: “A U.S. drone strike killed the number two of the Pakistani Taliban in the North Waziristan region on Wednesday, three security officials said. . . . The drone strike killed seven people, Pakistani security officials said, including Taliban deputy commander Wali-ur-Rehman . . .”

June 1: “A U.S. drone strike killed at least eight members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot in the southern province of Abyan on Saturday, a government official told Xinhua. The U.S. unmanned aircraft fired three missiles at a convoy of the al-Qaida militants in the Mahfad region, in Abyan province, leaving at least eight terrorists killed and three others injured, the local government official said on condition of anonymity.”

June 7: “A suspected U.S. drone strike killed seven people Friday night in northwest Pakistan, two days after the country’s new prime minister vowed to stop such attacks. Pakistani intelligence officials said the attack occurred shortly after sunset in a forested tribal area that straddles North and South Waziristan, not far from the border with Afghanistan. Four people were seriously hurt, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.”

Remember that line about “bound by consultations with partners, and respect for state sovereignty”?

A top American envoy was summoned by Pakistan’s new government to protest a U.S. drone strike that killed at least six militants in the volatile North Waziristan province, the Pakistan government said Saturday.

U.S. charge d’affaires Richard Hoagland was summoned Friday at the order of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and given a letter of protest, the government said.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the drone strikes which are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes was emphasized,” it said in a written statement.

Now, I don’t particularly care if the Pakistanis are outraged about this, but I don’t think it’s good for the American president to loudly and proudly declare that we’re doing all of this in consultation with our partners, and then not actually do so.

June 9: “Yemeni security and tribal sources say an apparent U.S. drone strike has killed at least three suspected al-Qaida militants in the north of the country. The sources said several drone-fired missiles struck at least one vehicle carrying the militants in the northern province of al-Jawf on Sunday.”

So, since the new policy was announced, four strikes, 25 killed, unknown number of people injured.