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


Saturday, June 1, 2013

War News for Saturday, June 01, 2013


Taliban deny responsibility for attack on Red Cross

US may need larger force in Afghanistan: Ex-commander

NATO Plans Summit On Next Year's Afghan Withdrawal

More than 1,000 Iraqis killed in May


Reported security incidents
#1: The Pakistani army had killed at least 23 militants in an overnight operation launched in the country 's northwest tribal area of Kurram Agency, local media ARY reported on Saturday. The clashes between militants and security forces also killed two soldiers and wounded five others, it said.
The operation started last night in the Para Chamkani area of Kurram Agency, a restive tribal region which borders to east Afghanistan. During the operation, security forces also reportedly destroyed four militant hideouts. On Friday, a statement issued the army mouthpiece ISPR said that 19 militants were killed in separate military operations conducted in Kurram Agency and its neighboring Khyber Agency since Thursday night. In the operations, the two soldiers were also killed, said the statement.

#2: Afghan police backed by the national army and NATO-led troops have eliminated 72 Taliban insurgents during series of operations across the country over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here Saturday. "In the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police conducted several joint clearance operations with the cooperation of Afghan National Army and the Coalition Forces in Badakhshan, Balkh, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Paktika, Paktiya, Herat and Ghor provinces during which 72 armed Taliban rebels have been killed, two wounded and eight others arrested," the statement contended. However, it did not say if there were any casualties on security forces.

#3: A roadside bomb struck a police van in Dawamanda district of Khost province 150 km southeast of Kabul on Saturday, killing three commuters and injuring three others, a local official said. "A mine planted by Taliban rebels struck a vehicle of Border Police Force in Dawamanda district at around 11:30 a.m. local time today, killing three police personnel and injuring three others," the official told Xinhua but declined to be identified.

#4: At least three civilians were killed and eleven others were injured following a roadside bomb explosion in western Ghor province of Afghanistan. The incident took place in Dolaina district on Friday evening after a civilian vehicle struck a roadside improvised explosive device (IED). Provincial governor spokesman Abdulhai Khatibi confirming the report said a vehicle carrying passengers for a wedding ceremony struck a roadside bomb in Barkhol village, killing three civlians injuring eleven others.

Posted by whisker at 4:31 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)