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, January 10, 2013

War News for Thursday, January 10, 2013


Pakistanis trucking NATO supplies to Afghanistan go on strike


Reported security incidents
#1: A suspected U.S. drone strike targeted a militant compound in northwest Pakistan Thursday, killing at least four people, two Pakistani intelligence officials said. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the drone fired two missiles at the compound near the village of Mir Ali in North Waziristan, one of seven districts in Pakistan's volatile tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

#2: At least 11 people, including a child and two security personnel, were reported killed and 40 others injured in a blast that took place near Quetta's Bacha Khan chowk on Thursday, hospital sources said. A congested market is located at the site of the incident and the explosion took place during peak hours. According to reports, the target of the attack was an FC checkpost. Several vehicles including a vehicle of law enforcement agency, nearby shops and food stalls were badly damaged in the explosion.

#3: Afghan security forces during a cleanup operations in Khogyani district of Nangarhar province with Jalalabad as its capital 120 km east of Kabul, leaving three Taliban militants dead and injuring two others, on Thursday, an official said. "The operations involving units of national army and police began early Thursday morning against Taliban militants in several villages of Khogyani district during which three Taliban rebels have been killed and two others sustained injuries," an army officer Neman Atifi told Xinhua. He also confirmed that one police and one army soldiers had been injured during the operations.


UK/MOD: Sapper Richard Reginald Walker

Posted by whisker at 4:28 AM

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