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, December 4, 2012

War News for Tuesday, December 04, 2012

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from a roadside bombing in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, December 3rd.


Reported security incidents
#1: Three Taliban militants have been killed and nine others detained in different operations across Afghanistan within the last 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said Tuesday. "Afghan National Police (ANP) supporting by the army and the NATO-led coalition forces launched eight joint cleanup operations in Faryab, Badakhshan, Balkh, Kandahar, Zabul, Logar, Ghazni and Helmand provinces, killing three armed Taliban insurgents and detaining nine other suspects over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement. The ANP also found and seized weapons, the statement said, without saying if there were any casualties on the side of security forces.
#2: A suicide bomber targeted a police station located in Bannu area, leaving eight people, including women, children and police officials injured in the wee hours of Tuesday, police said. According to the police, the incident took place when a bomber driving an explosive-laden vehicle ripped through the Habib police station leaving eight people injured.

Posted by whisker at 4:12 AM

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