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, October 21, 2014

War News for Tuesday, October 21, 2014


Government OKs Czech troops to stay in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: At least four Afghan soldiers have been killed in a roadside bomb attack on a bus in the capital. General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said the blast occurred October 21 while troops were on their way to the ministry in Kabul. Azimi says six more soldiers and six civilians were wounded in the blast, adding that the bomb was detonated by remote control.

#2: Cross-border firing near Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Bajaur Agency this morning has left at least one person dead. The person died in the firing was a civilian. The incident took place when couple of mortar shells were fired from Afghanistan and landed in a house in Charmang Valley. The attack also left the house damaged. Reports say that mortars were fired by the militants, targeting the Pakistani territory.

#3: Three soldiers sustained injuries when the Kunar-based Pakistani Taliban opened fire on them in Mamond tehsil in Bajaur Agency, official sources said on Monday. The sources said militants based in Kunar province of Afghanistan opened fire on the soldiers at the Mamond Ghakhi Pass.

#4: Nearly three dozen Taliban militants have been killed during series of operations across Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Tuesday.

#5: Five mine planters while they wanted to plant road side mine were killed in Paktika province

Posted by whisker at 4:14 AM

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