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, August 16, 2012

War News for Thursday, August 16, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, August 15th.


Reported security incidents
#1: According to local authorities in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan, at least 7 Afghan national army soldiers were killed following a roadside bomb explosion in this province. Gen. Janullah Safi commander 3 regiment in 209 Shaheen Afghan national army commandment confirming the report said the incident took place early Thursday around 2 am local time after a vehicle of the Afghan army soldiers struck with a mine, killing 7 Afghan army service members. In the meantime an Afghan national army official speaking on the condition of anonymity said at least two Afghan army service members were also injured following the blast.

#2: Heavily armed militants stormed a Pakistani air force base on Thursday, sparking clashes that left 10 people dead and raised concerns about the safety of the country's nuclear arsenal. One security official was killed and a plane damaged in the pre-dawn assault at PAF Base Minhas, where suspected Islamists again showed their ability to penetrate a sensitive military site five years into a Taliban insurgency. The Pakistan Air Force said nine attackers dressed in military uniforms and armed with rocket propelled-grenades and suicide vests targeted the base and adjacent Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at 2:00 am (2100 GMT Wednesday).

#3: One-person lost his life while 5 were injured in a blast near railway station on point road in Quetta. According to media reports, a bomb exploded on Point hotel Meer road near railway station Quetta. 1 person was killed while 5 injured in the attack.

#4: The Taliban claimed Wednesday to have caused damage and casualties to the foreign forces by firing mortars at the Bagram Airport. ISAF, however, said the attack did not cause any significant damage to the facility. The Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) their fighters fired two mortars at the Bagram Airbase, the largest base of foreign forces in Afghanistan, last night.

#5: A Pakistani official says gunmen forced 20 Shiites off buses in northern Pakistan and killed them. The police official said the incident happened Thursday in the Naran Valley.

#6: At least 27 Taliban insurgents have been killed and 24 others detained in 10 cleanup operations carried out by the Afghan forces and the NATO-led coalition troops in different provinces within the past 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said Thursday morning. "The joint operations were launched by Afghan police, army and the NATO-led coalition forces in Kabul, Laghman, Takhar, Kunduz, Zabul, Logar, Ghazni, Herat, Farah and Helmand provinces over the last 24 hours and a total of eight other insurgents were wounded in the mentioned raids," the ministry said in a statement.

#7: At least two policemen were killed and six others were injured when some unknown gunmen opened fire at a police mobile in Pakistan's southwest province of Balochistan on Wednesday night, local media reported. Dunya TV reported that the attack was launched at about 9:15 p. m. local time when at least four gunmen riding motorbikes opened fire at a police mobile carrying salaries for the local police employees, in Awran area of Balochistan, a small town located near provincial capital of Quetta. The police van with eight policemen on board was on its way to Awran from Quetta when it came under attack on the main highway.

#8: According to local security officials in Maidan Wardak province of Afghanistan, a senior government official was killed following a roadside bomb explosion in this province. A local security official speaking on the condition of anonymity said director of provincial security research director Gen. Tahir was killed following a roadside bomb blast in Pul-e-Surkh area. The source further added a remote controlled bomb went off while Gen. Tahir was defusing an improvised explosive device that was planted by militants.

Posted by whisker at 3:59 AM

1 comments:

Cervantes said...

Taliban apparently shoot down a Blackhawk in Kandahar, killing 7 Americans and 4 Afghans. Looks like a shootdown because the Taliban claimed responsibility hours before NATO announced it.

Just speculating here, but note that Syrian rebels shot down a jet a couple of days ago -- and a lot of MANPADS disappeared from Libyan arsenals after the revolution there. Nobody has accounted for them . . . We'll see.

August 16, 2012 at 6:23 AM

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