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


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

War News for Wednesday, November 17, 2010

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, November 16th.


France says Afghanistan is a trap

To Save Lives, NATO Is Razing Booby-Trapped Afghan Homes

NATO: Combat role in Afghanistan could pass 2014

GOP to jobless: Drop dead - (off topic)


Reported security incidents

Diyala Prv:
#1: “A bomb, stuck to a civilian car, went off in al-Mustapha neighborhood in central Baaquba on Wednesday (Nov. 17), killing the driver,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: According to police, unknown gunmen killed a civilian near his home located in Sikr, just east of Mosul.

#2: Another civilian died after police fired upon him by mistake, a security source said.

#3: Late Tuesday night, gunmen in Mosul had attacked and killed two women and a man from the same family while they were home.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Two rockets fired by suspected separatist militants, targeting a paramilitary post, wounded five civilians in Kohlu district of southwestern Baluchistan province on Wednesday, police said.


DoD: Staff Sgt. Juan L. Rivadeneira

DoD: Cpl. Jacob R. Carver

DoD: Spc. Jacob C. Carroll

Posted by whisker at 2:23 AM

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Iraq's first children's cancer hospital opens in Basra

BASRA, Iraq - Iraq's Minister of Health, Dr. Salih Mahdi opened the doors to the Basra Children's Hospital, the largest and first specialty care facility in Basra, Iraq, Oct. 21.

After six years and $166 million, the proposal that stemmed from former First Lady Laura Bush's desire to provide health care for the children of Iraq has finally become a reality, said Peter Bodde, assistant chief of mission, U.S. Embassy Baghdad.

The Basrah Children's Hospital is a state-of-the art acute and referral care facility that specializes in pediatric oncology.

http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/10/26/47156-iraqs-first-childrens-cancer-hospital-opens-in-basra/

November 17, 2010 at 8:27 PM

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