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, November 1, 2012

War News for Thursday, November 01, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-combat related injury in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 31st.


Reported security incidents
#1: updated -  Women and children were among 11 civilians killed during two separate explosions in Musa Qala district of southern Helmand province on Wednesday. The Ministry of Interior in a statement said the blast took place at around 9 am in Dizar area of district, when a Corolla car struck a roadside bomb, killing eight civilians and injuring two others. He said the first blast took place in Dizar area, killing 10 civilians, including four children and three women. In the second explosion in Kunjak area, a motorcycle struck a roadside bomb, killing a child and injuring a woman, two children and a man.

#2: Two women were killed and three others critically injured in a landmine blast in Balochistan province’s Dera Bugti district, FP News desk reported on Thursday. The five women were travelling on foot when the landmine exploded. The two women died on spot, whereas, the three injured women were shifted to Sui Hospital where they were reported to be in a critical condition

#3: Security forces operations against Taliban militants in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, the former stronghold of Taliban militants 450 km south of capital city Kabul, have left two dozen militants dead over the past two weeks, deputy to provincial police chief said Thursday. "Twenty four Taliban rebels have been killed during series of operations over the past two weeks elsewhere in Kandahar province," Rahmatullah Atrafi told a press conference here.

#4: According to local authorities in eastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan, the dead bodies of two individuals beheaded by unknown gunmen were recovered by local authorities in Andar district. Faizanullah Faizan, a coordinator for the local uprising forces in Ghazni province said the two individuals were killed by unknown gunmen on Wednesday night. Mr. Faizan further added the dead bodies of the two individuals were found in Band-e-Sarda area in Andar district.


MoD: Lieutenant Edward Drummond-Baxter

MoD: Lance Corporal Siddhanta Kunwar

Posted by whisker at 4:13 AM

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