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


Friday, June 28, 2013

War News for Friday, June 28, 2013

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-combat related injury in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, June 28th.


UK forces begin transfer of Afghan detainees


Reported security incidents
#1: At least three people including a woman were killed and ten others injured after unidentified men opened indiscriminate fire on shops in Kharadar, the old city area of Karachi on Friday. According to police, unidentified men riding on six motorcycles opened fires on shops near Mehran Bakery in Kharadar area, killing three people and injuring 10 others. A car and several shops also came under attack.
#2: Five Afghan civilians were killed as a roadside bomb struck a car in the eastern Laghman province on Thursday, a local official said. "A mine planted by militants struck a car in Omarzai area in the outskirt of provincial capital Mehterlam at around 03:00 p.m. local time today (Thursday), leaving five civilians dead and injured another," spokesman for provincial administration SarhadiZawak told Xinhua.

Posted by whisker at 4:20 AM

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