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, April 10, 2014

War News for Thursday, April 10, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: The driver of a Nato oil tanker headed to Afghanistan was shot dead by unidentified motorcyclists in Jamrud on Thursday morning. The attack took place as a convoy of seven oil tankers was on its way to Afghanistan, according to security officials.

#2: At least five Taliban militants were killed and eight injured during a clash in Afghanistan, an official said. "The clash erupted in Gereshk district, in Helmand province, late Wednesday night and lasted for a while, during which five armed Taliban rebels were killed and eight others sustained injuries," army spokesman Mohammad Rasoul Zazai told Xinhua.

#3: A bomb blast rocked Afghanistan's southern town of Shahjoi in Helmand province 340 km south of Kabul on Thursday, leaving one civilian dead and two others injured, deputy to provincial police chief Ghulam Jilani Farahi said. "Three innocent children were busy on a ground in Shahjoi district at 11:00 a.m. local time when they found a device and began playing but the device exploded killing one on the spot and injuring two others with one in critical condition," Farahi told Xinhua.

#4: Afghan security forces foiled a deadly suicide attack plot in western Herat province of Afghanistan, the security officials said Thursday.

Posted by whisker at 4:15 AM

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