The present-day U.S. military qualifies by any measure as highly professional, much more so than its Cold War predecessor. Yet the purpose of today’s professionals is not to preserve peace but to fight unending wars in distant places. Intoxicated by a post-Cold War belief in its own omnipotence, the United States allowed itself to be drawn into a long series of armed conflicts, almost all of them yielding unintended consequences and imposing greater than anticipated costs. Since the end of the Cold War, U.S. forces have destroyed many targets and killed many people. Only rarely, however, have they succeeded in accomplishing their assigned political purposes. . . . [F]rom our present vantage point, it becomes apparent that the “Revolution of ‘89” did not initiate a new era of history. At most, the events of that year fostered various unhelpful illusions that impeded our capacity to recognize and respond to the forces of change that actually matter.

Andrew Bacevich


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

War News for Wednesday, December 21, 2011

NATO is reporting the deaths of five ISAF soldiers from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, December 21st. News reports that a roadside bombing killed five polish soldiers in Ghazni province


Reported security incidents

#1: Afghan police say they shot dead a would-be suicide bomber before he was able to attack a police station in an eastern province. Youqib Khan, deputy police chief in Khost province, says policemen on Wednesday identified the would-be bomber in front of a bank next to the police station in Khost city and killed him before he could detonate his explosives vest. No one except the would-be bomber was killed, but Khan says a security guard at the bank was wounded.

#2: According to local authorities in southern Afghanistan, at least four Taliban militants were killed in southern Helmand province. Provincial governor spokesman Mohammad Daud Ahmadi confirming the report said, the Taliban militants were killed following an ambush by Afghan police forces in Adam Khan district of southern Helmand province on Tuesday. He also said, Afghan police forces did not suffer any casualty during the clashes with the Taliban militants.

#3: In the meantime, provincial governor spokesman Mohammad Daud Ahmadi said, an civilian was killed after his vehicle struck with a roadside bomb in the same district on Tuesday. (Helmand province)

#4: Taliban militants claim that they have shot down a US chopper operated by NATO in Afghanistan’s south. According to a spokesman for the militants, the US helicopter was brought down in Zabul Province when it was trying to rescue crew members of another helicopter that had crashed nearby.The militants also say that a number of US soldiers have also been killed in the incidents. The report was yet to be confirmed by Afghan or US officials.

Posted by whisker at 3:40 AM

1 comments:

Cervantes said...

Al Jazeera has a good summary of developments in Iraq, which appear quite ominous for the future of the federation. Maliki is demanding that Kurdistan hand over Hashimi, and the Kurds are refusing. If Iraq comes apart, it won't happen peacefully, I'm afraid.

December 21, 2011 at 7:45 AM

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