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, October 22, 2011

War News for Saturday, October 22, 2011

Coalition forces complete operation in Eastern Afghanistan


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Four Iraqi civilians have been injured in an explosive charge blast in west Baghdad on Saturday, a police source reported. "An explosive charge blew off on Saturday morning in west Baghdad's Hay al-Jami'a district, wounding 4 civilians and causing damage to their car and other cars in the area," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: The source told Aswat al-Iraq that unknown gunmen killed a 32-year woman inside her house, with ordinary pistols.

#2: On the other hand, the source added that two consecutive bombs exploded on a cops patrol mid of Mosul, which resulted in wounding them.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: "Afghan National Police, Afghan army and coalition forces have launched five joint operations in Kabul, Ghazni and Kandahar provinces, killing 24 armed insurgents and detaining 10 suspects," the Afghan interior ministry said in a statement.

Posted by whisker at 3:29 AM

2 comments:

Cervantes said...

Spence Ackerman reminds us that the U.S. is not really withdrawing from Iraq. An army of 5,500 mercenaries will replace the U.S. military.

"You can also expect that there will be a shadow presence by the CIA, and possibly the Joint Special Operations Command, to hunt persons affiliated with al-Qaida. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has conspicuously stated that al-Qaida still has 1,000 Iraqi adherents, which would make it the largest al-Qaida affiliate in the world.

So far, there are three big security firms with lucrative contracts to protect U.S. diplomats. Triple Canopy, a longtime State guard company, has a contract worth up to $1.53 billion to keep diplos safe as they travel throughout Iraq. Global Strategies Group will guard the consulate at Basra for up to $401 million. SOC Incorporated will protect the mega-embassy in Baghdad for up to $974 million. State has yet to award contracts to guard consulates in multiethnic flashpoint cities Mosul and Kirkuk, as well as the outpost in placid Irbil.

“We can have the kind of protection our diplomats need,” Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough told reporters after Obama’s announcement. Whether the Iraqi people will have protection from the contractors that the State Department commands is a different question. And whatever you call their operations, the Obama administration hopes that you won’t be so rude as to call it “war.”

Is this really an improvement?

October 22, 2011 at 4:53 AM
Dancewater said...

maybe not.... but here's hoping the Iraqi people can kick the mercenaries out too!

October 22, 2011 at 5:12 PM

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