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


Sunday, February 19, 2012

News of the Day for Sunday, February 19, 2012

Afghan Ministry of Health says 40 internally displaced people, including 22 children, have died from unusually cold conditions. Many people in refugee camps have inadequate shelter and fuel.

British hand over a patrol base in Helmand to Afghan forces.

Hamid Karzai meets with a Pakistani cleric, Maulana Samiul Haq, who runs a seminary where many Taliban have studied, to ask his help in promoting peace talks. Despite assertions to the contrary by some Afghan and NATO sources, the Taliban continue to deny that they have entered into any form of negotiations.

Epidemic of heroin addiction destroys Afghan lives, breeds widespread corruption and organized crime. (The news is, the opium trade used to be mainly for export.)

Afghan Defense Ministry orders soldiers who have family in Pakistan to move them to Afghanistan. They apparently fear that family members in Pakistan can be threatened, held hostage or influenced to turn the soldiers.

Afghan former head of the Directorate of National Security, Amrullah Saleh, casts doubt on the possibility of reconciliation with the Taliban.

Afghan writer Nabizada discusses violence against women.

Pakistani Foreign Affairs Minister Hina Rabbani Khar denies that Mullah Omar is in Pakistan. Riiiiigggghhhht .. .

Iraq Update

Suicide car bomber outside Baghdad police academy kills 18 police recruits, injures an additional 27 recruits and police.

Iraqi government says it is tightening security at the Syrian border to try to stem the flow of arms to Syrian rebels. (Recall that Iraq's Sunni Arabs generally support the Syrian uprising. The Shiite-led government opposes it, hence this is a manifestation of Iraq's sectarian divide.)

Posted by Cervantes at 4:58 AM

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