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, December 6, 2012

War News for Thursday, December 06, 2012


Taliban gain access to modern weapons in Nuristan


Reported security incidents
#1: Afghanistan's intelligence chief has been wounded in an assassination attempt in the capital, Kabul, Afghan officials say. A senior government official said Asadullah Khalid suffered injuries on the lower part of his body when a bomb exploded at the intelligence chief's guest house as he was receiving a visitor. The house is used for private meetings that Khalid doesn't want to hold at the official compound of the National Directorate of Intelligence, the official said.

#2: A U.S. drone fired a pair of missiles at a house in Pakistan's northwest tribal region near the Afghan border Thursday, killing three suspected militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The strike hit Mubarak Shahi village in the North Waziristan tribal area, the main sanctuary for al-Qaida and Taliban militants in Pakistan, said the intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

#3: Up to 10 insurgents have been captured in operations in eastern Afghan provinces, as part of increased campaign against insurgents, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces said Wednesday. The detained insurgents were captured in Paktika province 155 km south of capital Kabul, according to the statement.

#4: According to local authorities in eastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan, dozens of weapons and huge amount of ammunition were stolen by an employee working in arms depot in this province.


DoD: Sgt. 1st Class. Darren M. Linde

DoD: Spc. Tyler J. Orgaard

Posted by whisker at 4:37 AM

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