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, July 5, 2016

Update for Tuesday, July 5, 2016


With the official death toll from Saturday's bomb attack in Karrada at 175, Iraqi Interior Minister Mohammad Ghabban has offered his resignation. Prime Minister Abadi has not said whether he will accept it.

At the same time, calls are rising for Abadi to step down, as this one from visiting DePaul professor Laith Saud.

The UN accuses government-allied Shiite militia Kataeb Hezbollah of kidnapping, torture and murder of civilians in the battle for Falllujah. Some 900 people are missing.

CBC news has a round-up of what appears to have been IS inspired or directed violence around the world in the past few days. Speaking for myself, the strategic thinking behind these actions seems incomprehensible. The attack in Turkey was entirely counterproductive, as Turkey had heretofore seemed more concerned with Kurdish separatists and the Assad government than with IS, and had been criticized as reluctant to join the fight against IS. Obviously that will change now. Similarly the attacks in Saudi Arabia seem pointless. All of this disordered violence seems to have no intended effect other than to unite the world against the perpetrators. Indeed, it has already led to expressions of common cause between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Tomorrow we'll learn what's in the Chilcot report. More political turmoil for the UK will likely ensue, but will there be real fallout in the U.S.?


Posted by Cervantes at 10:26 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)