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 27, 2013

War News for Monday, May 27, 2013

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an indirect fire attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, May 26th.


Afghan police casualties rise as Taliban attacks surge


Reported security incidents
#1: The coalition also said a car bomb hit a Nato convoy early on Monday in the country’s west, but there were no military casualties. Three Afghan civilians were wounded in the blast that hit the convoy in Farah province, deputy governor Mohammad Rasouli said.

A suicide bomber attacked an Italian troop convoy Monday, injuring two soldiers and two Afghan civilians in western Afghanistan, an official said. Farah provincial government spokesman Abdul Rahman Zhwandai said the attacker drove an explosives-filled car and detonated it near the convoy.

#2: Two soldiers were injured in an explosion near a security checkpost in Janikhel area in Frontier Region (FR) Bannu on Sunday, sources said.The sources said explosive device planted by unidentified persons near the security checkpost in Janikhel area went off, leaving two soldiers injured.

#2: An electricity pylon was blown up in the Jaganath area of the district early Sunday, police officials said.They said four bombs planted under the pylon exploded one after the other, causing suspension of the power supply to the Sheikh Mohammadi gridstation in Peshawar for a few hours, the sources added.

#3: Heavy clashes have been reported in eastern Ghazni city after several Taliban militants carried out attack on a number of security check posts on Sunday evening. Deputy provincial governor Mohammad Ali Ahmadi confirming the report said heavy clashes are going on in Khosh, Khak-e-Gharibha and Sanjak areas of Ghazni city. According to reports heavy and light weapons are used during the clashes between Taliban militants and Afghan security forces and there are fears that clashes could harm local residents.

Posted by whisker at 4:23 AM

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