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


Thursday, November 10, 2011

War News for Thursday, November 10, 2011

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier from an IED blast in in Babaji, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, November 9th. Here's the ISAF release.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, November 9th.


Reported security incidents

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: At least five fighters of Aman Lashkar (peace committee) have been killed in a fight with militants in Aka Khel area of Khyber Agency of Pakistan’s tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Sources said on Thursday, militants of banned terrorist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacked on Aman Lashkar and killed five members. The sources said that two militants have also been killed in retaliation.

#2: A pro-government tribal militia clashed with Taliban militants in the Khyber tribal region on the Afghan border, killing one militiamen and wounding another, local government officials said. There was no word on casualties from the militants' side.

#3: A roadside bomb on Tuesday killed the district governor of Sar Howza district of eastern Paktika province and one of his bodyguards, wounding four others, Mukhlis Afghan, a spokesman for the governor of Paktika said.

Posted by whisker at 2:11 AM

2 comments:

Cervantes said...

For thousands of Iraqi women and girls, the conflict that began in 2003 was only the start of their ordeals.

"In the chaos of war and the confusion, lawlessness and poverty that followed, an untold number have become victims of sexual traffickers, some within Iraq and others sold over the borders.

But the problem of trafficking has gone almost unreported, kept in the shadows by a combination of corruption, religious and cultural taboo and lack of interest by the region's authorities in tackling it, researchers say."

November 10, 2011 at 6:42 AM
Anonymous said...

and the evil will long past the lifetimes of the evil shits who started this war of aggression...

dancewater

November 10, 2011 at 9:59 AM

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