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, September 10, 2013

War News for Tuesday, September 10, 2013


Reported security incidents
#1: Seven Afghan civilians were killed and 17 wounded Tuesday when a bus was struck by a roadside bomb in the country’s eastern province of Ghazni, police said.

#2: A government official says militants have beheaded three members of an anti-Taliban militia in the Bara area of Khyber Agency in country\'s northwest. Iqbal Khan says the militants also abducted three other members of the militia on Monday in the Khyber tribal area. Khan, a government administrator, said on Tuesday that dozens of militants took part in the attack in the Bara area of Khyber.

#3: Two suicide bombers wearing police uniform allegedly attempting to blow up themselves inside the district chief office in Panjwayee were shot dead before reaching their target, an official said Tuesday. The incident took place in Panjwahee district, where the couple equipped with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) wanted to detonate the chief office after succeeding to enter the compound, said governor spokesman, Jawid Faisal.

#4: Twenty-five militants were killed and eight others were wounded in a series of military operations across Afghanistan since Monday morning, said the country's Interior Ministry on Tuesday. "In the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police (ANP) conducted several joint clearance operations with the cooperation of Afghan army, National Security Directorate and Coalition Forces in Badakhshan, Kapisa, Kandahar and Helmand provinces. As a result 25 armed Taliban was killed, eight wounded and eight others were arrested," the ministry said in a statement providing operational updates.

Posted by whisker at 4:51 AM

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