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, January 15, 2013

War News for Tuesday, January 15, 2013


Military Suicides in 2012 Top Military Deaths in Afghanistan

Afghans want withdrawal of village police trainers


Reported security incidents
#1: Three Taliban insurgents were killed and 10 others detained in separate operations in Afghanistan on Tuesday, in the latest raids as part of campaign against Taliban in the country, the NATO-led coalition forces said.
 
#2: At least four Afghan civilians, including two women, have lost their lives in a roadside bomb explosion in southern Afghanistan, Press TV reports. The incident took place late on Monday when a civilian vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Miyanishin district of the Kandahar province, said Rozi Khan, the governor of the district on Tuesday.

#3: Four militants and six security personnel were killed in a clash between the two in Khyber Agency, FP News desk reported on Tuesday. According to security sources, the clashes between the security men and militants took place in Shanober area in Bara District last night that resulted in the death of six security personnel including four FC men and four militants. Nine FC personnel and seven Khasa Dar members were also injured in a battle last night when militants had attacked a check post.

#4: At least three police personnel were injured when a bomb blast occurred in Chaman police line on Tuesday morning, FP News Desk reported.

#5: At least four policemen were killed on Tuesday afternoon when a bomb blast hit a police convoy in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan, local media reported.

#6: The Taliban-linked militancy and cleanup operations elsewhere in the militancy-plagued Afghanistan have left 11 people including three civilians dead over the past 24 hours, officials said on Tuesday.

Posted by whisker at 4:40 AM

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