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


Saturday, August 13, 2011

War News for Saturday, August 13, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of a second ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, August 12th.


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Police and health officials say two civilians have been killed and 13 others wounded in a bomb explosion in western Baghdad. A police officer said on Saturday that the bomb went off around midnight Friday in Jamiaa neighborhood, near cafes and ice cream shops.

#2: At least five persons have been injured in an explosive charge blast against an alcohol shop in central Baghdad on Friday night, an Iraqi police source reported on Saturday. “An explosive charge blew off on Friday night, close to a alcohol-selling shop in west Baghdad’s Yarmouk district,” wounding 5 civilians.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Five Taliban militants and two policemen were killed as police launched a cleanup operation in Pashtun Zarghon district of Herat province, 640 km west of capital city Kabul on Friday, provincial police chief Syed Aqa Saqib said Saturday. "Since launching a cleanup operation in Pashtun Zarghon district on Friday, so far five Taliban rebels and two policemen have been killed," Saqib told Xinhua. Four insurgents have been injured and two others made captive, he added. The operation was launched Friday after a group of armed insurgents attacked police vehicles on the way to Pashtun Zarghon district, he added.

#2: Unidentified men kidnapped a U.S. national from the Pakistani city of Lahore early Saturday morning, police and neighbors said. Senior Superintendent Police Investigation, Abdul Razaq Cheema, said a group of nearly 10 persons forcibly took the U.S. national from his residence at the Model Town area of the city. Local media identified the missing American as Justin Warner, 63,who had been living in the area for four or five years. Police said he had been providing consultancy. Neighbor said that unidentified men arrived in two vehicles around 4 a.m. local time, entered the house and took the American with them. A neighbor told reporters that the gunmen also beat the guard at the main gate. He said he had never seen movement of the people at the residence of the U.S. citizen and only employees and guards would arrive for duty.





Posted by whisker at 3:25 AM

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The U.S. Army suffered a record 32 suicides in July, the most since it began releasing monthly figures in 2009. That number includes 22 active duty soldiers and 10 reservists.

Jorge

August 13, 2011 at 9:38 AM
Anonymous said...

Is there any news of the soldiers who lost their lives on the IUD explosions on 8/10?

August 13, 2011 at 6:10 PM

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