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


Thursday, December 26, 2013

War News for Thursday, December 26, 2013


Canadian military prepares Afghan exit

Georgian soldiers launch operation in Afghanistan

U.S. Sends Arms to Aid Iraq Fight With Extremists

Judge dismisses sailor radiation case - Here’s a little blip which has largely missed the American public. Apparently The USS Ronal Reagan has been contaminated from the Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster in Japan.


Reported security incident:
#1: Four militants were killed in a drone strike on their hideout in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan on Thursday, security officials said. The drone fired two rockets in the early hours of Thursday at the compound of top militant commander Gul Bahadur at Mirali village.

#2: A militant belonging to Pakistan based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) was killed in an encounter with security forces in Budgam district of Kashmir Valley on Thursday, police said. The militant, identified as Umar Bilal from Pakistan- occupied Kashmir, was killed in a gunfight in Hushroo village of Chadoora area of the central Kashmir district this morning, a police spokesman said.

Posted by whisker at 5:01 AM

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