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, October 16, 2012

War News for Tuesday, October 16, 2012


Report: Soldier killed herself in Afghanistan

Afghan Army’s Turnover Threatens U.S. Strategy


Reported security incidents
#1: Gunmen shot dead four Shi’a Muslims on Tuesday, in a fresh sectarian attack in Pakistan's troubled southwestern province of Baluchistan, police said. All those killed ran junk and scrap shops in Kabari Market in Quetta, the provincial capital where sectarian and separatist violence is common. “It was a sectarian attack. Gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on them and drove away,” Asif Ghafoor, a senior police official, told AFP.

#2: Afghan national police have killed four Taliban militants during a series of operations across the country over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a press release on Tuesday. “In the operations backed by the national army and the NATO- led troops and conducted in Kunduz, Wardak, Ghazni, Herat and Farah provinces over the past 24 hours, four armed Taliban rebels were killed, another injured and four others made captive,” the press release said. It did not say if there were any casualties on the security forces.

#3: Afghan security forces backed by the NATO-led troops eliminated 17 Taliban militants in Andar district of Ghazni province on Tuesday, an army spokesman in the province said. "Units of Afghan national army in coordination with the NATO- led coalition forces raided Taliban hideouts in Sangi and Nazarwal villages of Andar district late Monday night and during the cleanup operation which concluded at around 1:00 a.m. local time Tuesday, 17 rebels had been killed," Mohammad Hakim Stanikzai who speaks for 203 Thunder Corps of Afghan national army in Ghazni, told Xinhua.

#4: According to local authorities in western Herat province of Afghanistan, at least four people including three health workers were abducted by unknown gunmen in this province. The officials further added the health workers were kidnapped along with their driver in Ghoryan district of western Herat province.


DoD: Spc. Brittany B. Gordon

DoD: Sgt. Robert J. Billings

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can't win being a Sunni in Iraq can you. If you supported the American ideology of this stupid war on terrorism, which if we were all honest here for a second and actually took the time to count the attacks on American soil is a delusion, you will be killed by Al-Q now that America has it's tail between it's legs running away. If you fought against the illegal foreign invaders you will be hung by Iraqs puppet American government for being noble. Does ne1 on this god forsaken planet actually have a brain or is life nothing but a terrible American joke?

Dancewater said...

The facts are in: non-violent resistance works

"Nonviolence is fine as long as it works," Malcolm X once said. Recently, Columbia University Press published an extraordinary scholarly book that proves how nonviolence works far better as a method for social change than violence. This breakthrough book demonstrates that Gandhi was right, that the method of nonviolent resistance as a way to social change usually leads to a more lasting peace while violence usually fails.

Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict by Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan uses graphs, charts, sociological research and statistical analysis to show how in the last century, nonviolent movements were far better at mobilizing supporters, resisting regime crackdowns, creating new initiatives, defeating repressive regimes and establishing lasting democracies. Their evidence points to the conclusion that nonviolent resistance is more effective than armed resistance in overturning oppressive and repressive regimes and in leading to more democratic societies.

This report should cause the whole world to stop in its tracks and take up nonviolent conflict resolution and nonviolent resistance to injustice instead of the tired, old, obsolete methods of war and violence.

Dancewater said...

I wish the people of Fallujah had continued their non-violent resistance (it lasted less than a couple of weeks). It would have all turned out so much better for them. Today, their environment is poisoned and their children are born with horrific birth defects.

I believe that if they had resisted non-violently, then al Qaeda could not have come into their areas and the rest of Iraq would have stood with them.

Anonymous said...

Sure but it is unreasonable to expect pacifisim when in the middle of a war. I'm pretty sure sure if America had invaded my country(NZ) through lies I would have fought them to defend my people. In the same way as AL-Q wants to kill those Sunni who supported I don't see the logic in hanging these people who were nothing but vitcims of cruel circumstances. I mean really Iraq Sunni is like the crusades that the English once undertook and it's time people grew up especially Iraq's legal system and take note of things for what they actually are over that delusionary paranoia.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVNrPSDwsIk

Anonymous said...

I mean really Iraq's puppet government is giving me nightmares of the jew who cry that they are soooo persecuted as they go around blowing up children. Being a Christian a jew is something I take very seriously in their abuses against Muslims and something I have learnt through time while growing up getting out of that fantasy world once lived in and facing reality. It isn't easy for the Sunni government in Iraq especially seeing they have all that they once had but the way I look at it THEY are doing the best that they can for their people but how can they help Iraqis move forward if these American puppets impose death sentences on them over delusionary paranoid while being free to commit atrosities on the Sunni. I mean, being Shia, why commit attrosities on the Sunni. Iraq's mainstream government NO DIFFERENT from the problems they cry wolf about where NOBODY is going to move forward if you gonna be a racist about it.

Does nobody understand what Al-Q is. Firstly it isn't a necessarty that Bin Larden made but it is there for people who were left with no place in life so hey until these people in Iraqs government grow up they will be doing nothing but supporting Al-Q for leaving these Sunni out in the cold with nobody to care.