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 28, 2014

War News for Tuesday, October 28, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: Taliban militants have reportedly attacked a court in northern Afghanistan killing at least seven people including prosecutors, who they shot in their offices at close range. The attack took place in Kunduz, a city that the militants have encircled in recent weeks and attempted to storm but without success, reported the Dawn.

#2: Unidentified gunmen today shot dead a member of anti-Taliban peace committee in northwestern Pakistan's Swat district.

#3: At least 33 terrorists were killed during two different air strikes conducted as part of the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan Agency on Monday.

#4; In a separate incident on Monday, at least nine soldiers were injured when militants targeted a security forces vehicle with an improvised explosive device (IED) in Charmang Tehsil of Bajaur Agency. The injured included seven Frontier Corps (FC) personnel and two Levies men.

#4: Armed Taliban killed four policemen and abducted several others in an attack on their security posts in Wardoj district of Badakhshan province.

#5: A group of militants have launched attack on police check post located close to the provincial police headquarter in western Herat province of Afghanistan. According to Ministry of Interior (MoI) officials, the militants were riding motorcycle when they opened fire on a check post near the police headquarter. Officials in Herat city hospital have confirmed that two dead bodies of policemen along with seven injured civilians were taken to the hospital so far.

#6: At least 24 Taliban militants were killed and two others were injured following military operations by Afghan national security forces in the past 24 hours.

#7: At least three Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were martyred in separate Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks in the past 24 hours.

Posted by whisker at 4:05 AM

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