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


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

War News for Tuesday, April 16, 2013


Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan commandos killed 22 insurgents on Monday during an operation to capture a Taliban commander in eastern Afghanistan, police and the U.S. military said. The raid was carried out in the Bati Kot district of Nangarhar when a team of commandos raided a village, the U.S.-led Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force said. The Taliban commander, Jamal Faroqi, was killed in the raid and 10 insurgents were captured.

#2: The son, brother and nephew of PML-N provincial President Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri were among the four people killed while several others were injured in an attack on his convoy in the Ghut bridge area here on Tuesday. A remote controlled explosion went off after Zehri’s convoy passed Ghat Bridge killing Zehri’s son Mir Sikander, his brother Mir Mehar and nephew Mir Zaid. At least 25 to 30 others were also injured in the remote controlled bomb that was planted under the bridge.

#3: Five security personnel on Tuesday were injured in clashes between security forces and militants in the Akka Khel area of Bara in Khyber Agency. Security forces also defused five Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted by militants to target them. Official sources said that militants attacked security forces at about 1:30 am Tuesday morning which was then repulsed.


DoD: Chief Warrant Officer Matthew P. Ruffner

DoD: Chief Warrant Officer Jarett M. Yoder

Posted by whisker at 4:22 AM

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