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


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

War News for Wednesday, February 20, 2013


Reported security incidents
#1: NATO and Afghan forces have killed at least 25 insurgents and 3 of their commanders in separate operations around the country, Afghan and coalition officials said Wednesday. An Afghan security operation on Tuesday in Mehterlam, the capital city of eastern Laghman province, killed 15 insurgents, the Interior Ministry said. The ministry said the insurgent's commander, identified as Qari Almas, was also killed in the raid. Meanwhile, joint operations by Afghan troops and the U.S.-led International Assistance Force killed 10 insurgents on Tuesday in southern and eastern Afghanistan, NATO said. The coalition said five insurgents were killed in the lawless Andar district of eastern Ghazni province, three died in an operation in eastern Logar province, and two were killed in southern Helmand province.

#2: Six soldiers of Afghan National Army (ANA) were killed and two more wounded after separate attacks in Kandahar, Farah and Herat province, defence ministry said Tuesday .The ANA troops were killed and wounded Ghorak district of Kandahar, Bala Balok district of Farah and Herat provinces, the defence ministry said in a statement.

#3: An Afghan civilian was killed and one was wounded Wednesday in a blast in the country 's southern province of Uruzgan, police said. "A civilian car touched off a pressure-plate bomb or Improvised Explosive Device (IED) along a road in Garmab Manda area in provincial capital in mid-day and the explosion killed a civilian injured another," police spokesman Farid Ayel told Xinhua, blaming Taliban insurgents for placing the IED in the province 370 km south of capital Kabul.

Posted by whisker at 4:16 AM

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