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 13, 2013

War News for Thursday, June 13, 2013

The US/DoD is reporting the death of a soldier previously unreported by the military. Staff Sgt. Jesse L. Thomas Jr. died from unreported causes somewhere in Helmand province, Afghanistan on Monday, June 10th.


Reported security incidents
#1: Six Afghan policemen were found shot at their checkpoint in the country's south and two other policemen were missing, raising suspicions they killed their comrades, an official said Thursday. District chief Nayamatullah Samim said that the policemen's bodies were discovered in the shelter near their checkpoint Wednesday night in Musa Qala district of Helmand province, after they did not check in with their superiors. Two other officers assigned to the checkpoint were missing, along with vehicles and weapons.

#2: Afghan security forces raided a Taliban hideout in northern Afghan province of Kunduz, killing seven militants including a shadowy district governor on Thursday, a local official said. "The security forces including police stormed a hideout of Taliban rebels in Dasht-e-Archi district at around 03:00 a.m. local time today, leaving seven militants including Qari Mohammad Halim, the shadowy governor of the district dead," Hamid Agha the district police chief, told Xinhua. There were no casualties on security forces, he added.


DoD: Lt. Col. Todd J. Clark

DoD: Maj. Jaimie E. Leonard

DoD: Staff Sgt. Jesse L. Thomas Jr.

Posted by whisker at 4:35 AM

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