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, May 13, 2013

War News for Monday, May 13, 2013


Afghans Say an American Tortured Civilians


Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan officials say a roadside bomb has hit a bus and killed 10 civilians, mostly women and children, in the south of the country. Kandahar province's police chief Gen. Abdul Raziq said the Monday blast wounded another 12 people in Maroof district, roughly 60 kilometers (36 miles) northeast of Kandahar city.

#2: Balochistan Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Sukhera narrowly escaped a suicide attack on Sunday that killed at least six people and wounded 46 others, officials said. IGP Sukhera had just entered his residence in Quetta when a suicide bomber in a vehicle laden with explosives blew themselves up outside. "At least two policemen, three paramilitary soldiers and one passerby were killed outside the inspector general's residence and 46 others were wounded," Home Secretary Akbar Durrani told AFP.

#3: According to reports at least two Afghan civilians were killed during a night time military operation by NATO-led coalition security forces in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan. Local officials in Kandahar province confirming the report said coalition security forces have also detained at least four Afghan civilians during the operation which was conducted in Arghandab district.

Posted by whisker at 4:18 AM

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)