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, April 21, 2009

War News for Tuesday, April 21, 2009

April 19 airpower summary:

April 18 airpower summary:

April 17 airpower summary

Everybody in Baghdad knows someone who's been killed:


Reported Security incidents:

Kut:
#1: Unknown gunmen launched two rockets toward a Multi-National Forces (MNF) base to the west of Kut city, a security source from Wassit province said on Monday. “The gunmen fired two Katyusha rockets,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The rockets targeted the Delta Base, 7 km west of Kut,” he said.


Mosul:
#1: Unknown gunmen killed a civilian amid al-Nabi Younnes marketplace in eastern Mosul,” a police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Another police source said that an armed group shot and killed a taxi driver in Garage al-Shamal region in eastern Mosul.

#3: An improvised explosive device went off targeting U.S. forces in northern Mosul, without leaving casualties,” a security source said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Afghan police and foreign troops killed seven militants in a joint mopping-up operation in Uruzgan porvince on Monday, about 300 km (160 miles) southwest of Kabul, the interior ministry said.

#2: Afghan soldiers and police backed by U.S. troops killed two militants in a gunbattle in Uruzgan province on Sunday, the U.S. military said.

#3: Pakistan's security forces, backed by gunship helicopters, continued their attacks on militants' hideouts in northwestern tribal region and killed 10 more militants on Monday. The security forces have started the military operation in Orakzai tribal agency bordering Afghanistan on Sunday, killing 12 militants, private Geo TV channel said. "Militants targeted security personnel in Orakzai Agency on Monday. In reply, the security forces' gunship helicopters carried out shelling, killing 10 militants," reports quoted sources as saying.

Posted by whisker at 3:34 AM

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