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


Thursday, June 6, 2013

War News for Thursday, June 06, 2013


Reported security incidents
#1: One man was killed and 13 others were wounded during a bomb blast in a hotel in northern Sar-i-Pul province on Thursday morning. Brig. Gen. Abdur Rauf Taj, the provincial police chief, said the explosion happened inside the hotel located in the Minar Square of the city. With the cause of the blast under investigation, witness Haji Sadruddin told "Pajhwok" Afghan News three people had been killed in the heavy explosion.

#2: Two alleged attackers were killed and fifteen security personnel were injured when police and Rangers launched an operation early Thursday in Kharotabad area, Geo News reported. According to DIG Ahmed Mubeen, police, Rangers and other law enforcement agencies launched a search operation in kharotabad area in the wee hours. During the search, the culprits present in the area opened fire on the security personnel, leaving 15 cops injured. DIG Ahmed Mubeen told that during the exchange of fire, two culprits blew themselves with explosives. The area was declared clear after the law enforcement agencies completed the search operation.

#3: As many as five soldiers of the Pakistan Army were killed and six others injured when an oil tanker collided with their vehicle Thursday. According to police, a speeding oil tanker collided with an army vehicle on Sher Shah Road on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, killing three soldiers and injuring eight others.

#4: Fifty-five militants have been killed in separate military operations within the last 24 hours, the Afghan Interior Ministry said Thursday morning. "Afghan security forces and the NATO-led coalition troops conducted seven cleanup operations in Kabul, Nangarhar, Jawzjan, Kandahar, Zabul and Logar province, killing 55 armed insurgents over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement. Up to 12 insurgents were wounded and 11 others detained by the joint forces as a result of the operations, it added.

Posted by whisker at 4:11 AM

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