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, May 7, 2014

War News for Wednesday, May 07, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: At least 12 militants died during a shootout between rival factions in a restive tribal region near the Afghan border Tuesday, officials said, while two died in a separate attack. Supporters of Tehreek-e-Taliban commander Khan Said Sajna and followers of the late TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud clashed in the Shawal area of the troubled North Waziristan district, a security official told AFP. Four other militants were wounded during the gunfight which was still continuing, the official said late Tuesday. Earlier in the day two militants were killed in a bomb blast at a bazaar in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, known as a stronghold of Taliban and al Qaeda linked militants.

#2: two members of a pro-government militia were killed when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in northwest on Tuesday, officials said. The incident happened in the Mastak area of the Khyber tribal district, 71 kilometres southwest of Peshawar. "Two people were killed and three injured when their vehicle was blown up by an improvised explosive device," local administration official Ali Sher told AFP.

#3: An FBI agent was arrested in Pakistan this week after he attempted to board a domestic flight between Karachi and Islamabad with ammunition and knives, police said Wednesday. The man was arrested Monday with fifteen 9 mm bullets, three small knives and a wrench, according to police Superintendent Malir Rao Anwar. All of those items, along with his laptop computer and cell phone, have been taken to a forensics lab for analysis. The agent was visiting Pakistan as part of an assignment to train local police, a U.S. law enforcement official said.

#4: A militant blew himself up during a clash with the security forces in Bandkurai area on Tuesday, official sources said. The sources said the police and security forces were tipped off that some militants were present in a house in Javedabad village.The police and security forces, the sources said, besieged a house in Javedabad village and asked the militants to surrender. However, the militants opened fire on the police instead of surrendering to them.

#5: Afghan forces have killed 50 Taliban militants, including a shadowy district governor in Ghazni province on Tuesday, a local official Shafiq Nang said.

#6: Ten police were killed while three others wounded in two bomb attacks in western Afghan province of Herat, police said on Tuesday. In one attack, three Afghan Civil Order Police cops were killed and two police officers were wounded when their jeep was struck by a roadside bombing in Obe district on Tuesday Morning.

#7: At least eight civilians belonging to a single family were killed following an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in western Herat province of Afghanistan.

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