Ledger,
“I would suggest that unless there were undercover moles whose lives would be lost and said lost lives would hamper our surveillance methods (recruitment of moles) then the strike should have gone forward.”

The problem with that logic is that 1) it will create additional distrust within the locals and 2) it will be used by the MSM against the anti-terror forces, with the end result of making the job harder.

In a lot of cases, probably most, the “civilian” casualties cost more than the value of the target. There are obviously exceptions, but in most cases it is better to wait.