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


Friday, August 3, 2012

War News for Friday, August 03, 2012


Reported security incidents
#1: An Australian special forces soldier shot in the leg earlier this week will resume duties in Afghanistan in a few days. The digger received a ricochet gunshot wound to his lower left leg on Tuesday when the the Special Operations Task Group and Afghan security forces came under small arms fire from insurgents.

#2: A Task Force North convoy supported by Italy's Caserta eigth regiment infantry soldiers was involved in a blast caused by two rudimental devices (ied) in the Bala Mourghab area, in Afghanistan. The convoy was going to assist a US unit who had remained stranded because of an accident. Two Italian soldiers have been wounded and a third one has been injured. The convoy was also hit by automatic gunshots. Italian infantry soldiers responded in a swift and firm way. The blast occurred last night at 11.30 pm local time.

#3: A member of the Ghor provincial assembly was killed along with his guard in an improvised explosive device blast in Chaghcharan on Thursday. Hayatullah Baig, member of the Ghor provincial assembly, and his guard were killed while two more guards were injured when the vehicle they were travelling in struck an IED in Taqi Taimur area in the provincial capital Chaghcharan, the Ghor Governor Dr Abdullah Haiwad told the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP).

#4: The local police on the directives of their commander killed 11 innocent Pashtun civilians in Khas Uruzgan district in Uruzgan province yesterday, an official said Thursday. The Uruzgan provincial assembly chairman, Muhammad Ibrahim Akhunzada told the Afghan Islamic Press the local police on the orders of their Hazara ethnic commander, Shujaee, killed 11 Pashtun civilians in Matakzo area in Khas Uruzgan district yesterday. He said the local police commander had been backed by the foreign troops, adding the area people had complained to the authorities concerned about his misconduct time and again.


DoD: Lance Cpl. Curtis J. Duarte

DoD: Spc. Kyle B. McClain

Posted by whisker at 3:42 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)