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, March 1, 2011

War News for Tuesday, March 01, 2011

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, February 28th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, March 1st.


Base was hit by rocket during Rep. Cicilline’s visit to Iraq

Afghanistan recounts vote in 10 provinces

Yemeni claims CIA torture in secret prisons


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A Major officer from the Interior Minister escaped an assassination attempt due to a bomb stuck to his car in Al Aazamiya region, northern Baghdad. The bomb detonated after the officer left the car, a police source said.


Diyala Prv:
#1: A katyusha landed near the US airport base in Al Sabtiya region, northern Baaquba, on Tuesday at dawn without knowing the extent of damages or any reports on casualties.


Mosul:
#1: Three civilians were wounded on Monday by a roadside bomb blast in eastern Mosul, according to a security source. “A roadside bomb went off on Monday (Feb. 28) targeting an army vehicle patrol in al-Jazaer neighborhood, eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Taliban militants in Pakistan’s lawless northwestern tribal belt on Tuesday shot dead four local tribesmen they accused of spying for the United States, officials said. The bullet-riddled bodies were dumped on a roadside in Miramshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal district and a known hub of Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.


DoD: Spc. Andrew C. Wilfahrt

Posted by whisker at 1:07 AM

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