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, February 28, 2013

War News for Thursday, February 28, 2013


Reported security incidents
#1: INSURGENTS today launched a rocket attack on the main coalition military base in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. The heavily-fortified Camp Bastion, which accommodates up to 4,000 British, US, Danish and Estonian troops was targeted at about 6.30pm as darkness fell. Damage was caused but a spokesman for Taskforce Helmand said no-one had been injured. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “We can confirm that a rocket attack against Camp Bastion took place. No significant damage or casualties have been reported as a result of this incident.”

Posted by whisker at 4:16 AM

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