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


Monday, October 27, 2014

War News for Monday, October 27, 2014

The DoD is reporting the deaath of Cmdr. Christopher E. Kalafut, who died from a non-combat related incident at Al Udeid Air Base, Doha, Qatar on Friday, October 24th. He was was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

U.S., British Troops End Combat Role in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province


Reported security incidents
#1: General Abdul Qadir Sayad, deputy police chief in Badakhshan province said on Sunday that a large number of insurgents simultaneously attacked several checkpoints in Wardoj district late on Saturday, and that at least four police officers had died while another seven were injured.

#2: Eighteen militants were killed when the Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft hit their hideouts in the troubled Khyber Agency, official sources said on Sunday.

#3: A group of suicide bombers stormed the office of prosecuting attorney in Kunduz provincial capital, the northern Kunduz city, 250 km north of Kabul on Monday, casualties feared, provincial police spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussaini said.

#4: Afghan security forces have pressed on to clear the militants in restive provinces and killed 27 militants in the latest operations, the country's Interior Ministry said Monday.

#5: Two rocket shells landed in Kabul city, but fortunately had no casualties following the shelling.

#6: Four armed insurgents were killed and six others wounded in clashes with police forces in Faryab province last night.

Posted by whisker at 4:00 AM

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