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, February 4, 2013

War News for Monday, February 04, 2013


Peace talks flounder as U.S. draws down

Afghanistan security better before British troops arrival: Karzai


Reported security incidents
#1: One civilian was killed and six others sustained injuries as a roadside bomb struck a civilian car in Kandahar province 450 km south of Kabul on Sunday, a local official said Monday. "A mine planted by anti-government militants on a road in Khakriz district struck a civilian car Sunday afternoon killing the driver and injuring six others, all women," district governor Abdul Hamid said.

#2: Up to four armed Taliban insurgents have been killed and 10 others detained in different operations within the last 24 hours, the Afghan Interior Ministry confirmed on Sunday. During the operations, carried out by Afghan police supporting by army and the NATO-led coalition forces in eastern Kabul and western Herat province, the joint forces also found weapons, the statement added.

#3: The police have arrested nine Taliban militants during a series of operations across the country over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Monday. The operations, according to the statement, were carried out in Kabul, Baghlan, Uruzgan and Paktiya provinces, during which a number of arms and ammunitions including 50 kg of explosive materials have been seized.

Posted by whisker at 4:33 AM

1 comments:

Cervantes said...

Just Who Do They Represent: At Hagel Hearing, Concern for Israel Tops U.S. Troops in Combat.

"In nearly eight hours of interrogation and testimony, Israel and its interests were referred to by the Senate Armed Services Committee a total of 106 times. On the other hand, there were a mere 24 references made to Afghanistan and the Americans fighting there—most by Democratic Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the committee.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan—where the U.S. frequently targets militants with drone-launched Hellfire missiles—barely merited mention at all.

It’s difficult to interpret this message any other way: the Senate Armed Services Committee—particularly its Republican membership—is more concerned with the apparent American defense secretary’s relationship with Israel than with the future of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the fate of U.S. troops engaged in both locations."

February 4, 2013 at 12:41 PM

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