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, July 15, 2012

News of the Day for Sunday, July 15, 2012

Afghan Higher Education Minister Obaidullah Obaid escapes an assassination attempt by means of a roadside bomb while traveling between Baghlan and Kunduz, but two police in his escort are wounded.

Double bombing in Logar province injures 18  . A bomb went off near the Red Crescent office in Pul-e-Alam, followed by a second explosion when bystanders and security forces came to assist the victims. Most casualties are said to be civilians. (Note: The story above also mentions this incident but the account appears to be less accurate and complete.)

Taliban attack a police outpost in Shahwali Kot, Kandahar province. The attack is repelled with three attackers said to be killed.

Mayor of Shindand, Herat, is killed in a drive-by shooting on Friday. Apparently it took some time for the news to get out. (BTW Bakhtar News Agency, the source of this story, also gives the casualty total in Pul-e-Alam as 20.)

Alex Spillius reviews "Little America" by Rajiv Chandrasekaran This account of the U.S. war in Afghanistan also tells the story of a failed U.S. development project in Helmand in the '50s. Writes Spillius:

Chandrasekaran contends that haste, ineptitude, poor co-ordination and political considerations largely squandered an opportunity created by the Obama troop “surge” to provide sustainable aid and force elements of the Taliban to talk. . . . Washington’s ambitions in Afghanistan have been scaled down from building a reliable, democratic friend to leaving behind a scarcely credible state barely capable of withstanding the Taliban onslaught expected after 2014. After nearly 11 years, that is sadly not saying much.

Kabul Journalist Rohool Amin blames corrupt leadership  for Afghanistan's civil war, repeated foreign invasions, and dependency. 


1 comments:

Dancewater said...

Iraq Al Qaeda claims June attacks on Shi'ites

BAGHDAD, July 10 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq has claimed responsibility for dozens of bombings and assassinations targeting Shi'ite Muslims that rocked cities and towns across the country in June.

June was one of the bloodiest months in Iraq since U.S. troops withdrew at the end of last year, with at least 237 people killed and 603 wounded mainly in bomb attacks, according to a tally by Reuters.

The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) said a statement posted on radical Islamist websites that it was behind more than 73 attacks that mainly targeted Shi'ite pilgrims and security officials.

The group had previously said it was responsible for the June 13 attacks in which more than 70 people were killed in bombings targeting Shi'ite pilgrims across the country.

++++++++++++++

The evil shits.

Iraqis are so much worse off since the US war of aggression and occupation of Iraq. Not that the majority of Americans notice or care..... they mostly supported this war of aggression, because they are the evil siblings of the NAZIS. As are the Al Qaeda shits.