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


Saturday, February 16, 2013

War News for Saturday, February 16, 2013


NATO air strikes for Afghan security forces must end - Karzai

U.S. Military Faces Fire as It Pulls Out of Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: A Fairborn native has been critically wounded in Afghanistan. Sources tell 2 NEWS that Christina Maddock was working as a contractor at the time for a company called Intelligence Software Solutions based in Colorado. We're told she was shot, but exactly how the incident occurred is still being investigated. She was flown to Germany for treatment where as of Friday morning she was in critical condition on life support. She was also an active member of the Ohio Air National Guard.

#2: American Special Operations Forces stopped a tribal leader as he was driving with his brother and 6-year-old son in an area rife with Taliban in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday. A quick examination of his identity documents confirmed that he was a wanted man. The troops took the man, Mirza M. Khan, and his brother to a nearby base for questioning. According to both the brother and a district official who heard the Special Forces’ account of the episode, the two men were let go — but Mr. Khan was fatally shot as he returned to his car.

#3: At least 10 people were killed and many others, including children and women injured as a blast hit Quetta’s busy market on Kirani road on Saturday. Initial reports said four people were killed while many others injured. However, Geo News correspondent says death toll started climbing as victims succumbed to their wounds in hospitals where a state of emergency was declared. He says the blast occurred in a bazaar located near a densely populated area.

#4: One terrorist was killed and six others were arrested following a clash with security forces in Bannu on Saturday. Acting on a tip-off, security forces launched a search operation in Mandan area of Bannu, where militants were believed to be hiding. The militants attacked the troops, who opened retaliatory fire, killing one attacker and apprehending six others.

#5: At least eight militants were killed on Friday in an operation carried out by security forces in the Orakzai tribal region. According to a private TV channel the action was carried out in Upper Orakzai's Mamozai area. Jet fighters were also used in the operation in which two militant hideouts were destroyed.

#6: Two members of Afghan security forces were killed and four others were wounded Saturday when a bomb hit their mobile in the country's northern province of Jawzjan, the provincial police chief said.

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