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, November 19, 2011

War News for Saturday, November 19, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, November 18th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, November 18th.


Ex-reservist gets 4 years in shooting death

Two Britons killed in Pakistan drone strike


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: At least 10 persons have been injured during an attempt to dismantle an explosive charge in east Baghdad's Palestine Street on Saturday, a security source reported. "An explosive charge, planted close to al-Kheima Theatre in east Baghdad's Palestine Street, blew up while an Iraqi Army explosives expert attempted to dismantle it. The blast wounded 8 of his colleagues and 2 civilians," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Two Afghan police officers were killed in a clash with foreign troops conducting a night raid southwest of the Afghan capital, Kabul, early on Saturday, police and military officials said, adding to Afghan pressure to stop the raids. Saturday's incident happened when the soldiers, who were involved in a night raid which had not been coordinated with the police, ignored orders to halt when spotted by officers in Ghazni province, said Ghazni police chief Zorawar Zahid.

#2: Suspected militants attacked a paramilitary convoy with a remote-controlled bomb in the Jafferabad district of southwestern Baluchistan province, killing two soldiers and wounding three, security officials said. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but Baluch separatists and Taliban militants have been active in the province and have been blamed for such violence in the past.

#3: Militants ambushed a paramilitary patrol in the Bara area of the northwestern Khyber tribal region, killing one soldier, local officials said. One of the main supply routes for NATO forces in Afghanistan goes through Khyber, where Pakistani forces are conducting operations against militants.


DoD: Spc. Sean M. Walsh

MoD: Lieutenant David Boyce

MoD: Lance Corporal Richard Scanlon

Posted by whisker at 3:55 AM

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