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, November 1, 2011

War News for Tuesday, November 01, 2011

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in esatern Afghanistan on Tuesday, November 1st.


North Texas Contractor Killed in Afghanistan

U.S. airbase to close in 2014: Kyrgyz PM


Reported security incidents

Diyala Prv:
#1: Four Iraqi soldiers were killed in an attack by unknown gunmen against their check point in Sadia district, Provincial official announced today. On the other hand, another attack against the National Union headquarter in mid of the district led to injuring 3 guards. Sadiya district chief Ahmed al-Zarkoushi told Aswat al-Iraq that the attack resulted in killing one soldier, while the other three were killed by a bomb blast on the main road when they hurried to assist their mates.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Two Iraqi civilians have been killed in west Iraq's Anbar Province on Monday, a security source reported. "Two civilians have been killed in a shooting which occured during a wedding in Qaim townshiip, west of Anbar Province," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. Army forces fired shots into the air in an attempt to stop the shooting in the wedding party, the source noted.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: US drone-fired missiles killed four suspected militants yesterday close to the Afghan border, Pakistani officials said. The missiles hit a vehicle close to the town of Mir Ali in the North Waziristan tribal region, which is effectively under the control of al-Qaida and Taliban militants, many of whom fight US forces in Afghanistan.

#2: Four children were killed when a roadside bomb went off in Afghanistan's Wardak province with Maidan Shar as its capital 35 km west of capital city of Kabul on Monday, a spokesman for provincial administration said on Tuesday. "Four innocent children, all member of the same family, were killed when a roadside bomb went off in Khawajagan village in surrounding area of provincial capital Maidan Shar late on Monday," Shahidullah Shahid told Xinhua on Tuesday morning.

#3: The Australian Defence Force has revealed an Afghan man was shot and killed by Australian soldiers at Tarin Kot in Uruzgan Province on Saturday. The man was riding a motorbike. The ADF says its soldiers opened fire when he failed to follow directions to stop.

#4: Afghan security forces and foreign troops killed 11 insurgents, wounded two and detained 29 in six provinces over the past 24 hours, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.


CNC/DF: Master Corporal Byron Garth Greff

Posted by whisker at 3:15 AM

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