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


Monday, January 14, 2013

War News for Monday, January 14, 2013


Reported security incidents
#1: A roadside bomb killed as many as 14 Pakistani soldiers in the northern border region of North Waziristan yesterday, military officials said, a day after the Pakistani Taliban leader called for attacks on the military in the area to stop. The explosion occurred on a road about 50 kilometres south of the provincial capital of Miranshah. Twenty-one soldiers were wounded in the attack, senior army officials said.

#2: Up to three Taliban insurgents were killed and eight others were arrested in different operations carried out by Afghan forces and the NATO-led coalition troops on Monday, said the coalition or International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a press release.

#3: At least five Afghan soldiers were killed or injured following roadside improvised explosive device blast and militants attacks during the past 24 hours, Afghan defense officials announced.

Posted by whisker at 3:30 AM

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