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


Sunday, January 20, 2013

News of the Day for Sunday, January 20, 2013

An attempt to assassinate the governor of Herat fails when the attackers' explosives detonate prematurely.

Afghan army says it is undertaking an offensive  in the Alinegar district of Laghman province.

Elsewhere, Ministry of the Interior says 10 Taliban killed  in various joint operations around the country.

Pakistan announces it will release all Afghan Taliban prisoners it now holds, including Mullah Baradar. This is evidently in furtherance of the peace initiative as the Taliban prepare to open a diplomatic office in Qatar. Afghanistan and the U.S. do not appear to object to this move. However, some Afghan MPs do object. (Note: The Pakistanis presumably know the whereabouts of Mullah Omar and are already protecting him. It would be surprising if this were not so. -- C)

An Afghan official criticizes Russia for not doing enough  to fight demand for Afghan narcotics. The Russians have recently complained about increased drug production during the NATO occupation but the Afghans point the finger at Russia as a major consumer. (Reminiscent of Mexico and the U.S., no?)

This is a slightly weird story, but it appears the U.S. spent millions through a maintenance contract to service vehicles in Afghanistan which had already been destroyed.

Afghan government officials don't bother to register their cars or pay motor vehicle taxes.

Afghan spy agency apologizes for beating up journalists  following the recent attack on its headquarters.

Note: An Iranian source, which is probably unreliable, reports that a U.S. drone attack has killed 5 civilians in Kunar province. I'm not going to link to it because I'm skeptical, but if this is ultimately confirmed I'll consider linking to them in the future. -- C












Posted by Cervantes at 5:25 AM

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