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


Wednesday, June 5, 2013

War News for Wednesday, June 05, 2013

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by the military. Pfc. Mariano M. Raymundo died from undisclosed causes in Sharan, Afghanistan, Pakitka province, Afghanistan on Saturday, June 1st.
 
The DoD is reporting another new death previously unreported by the military. Warrant Officer Sean W. Mullen died in a roadside bombing in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Sunday, June 2nd.
 
The DoD is reporting the deaths of two soldiers previously unreported by the military. 2nd Lt. Justin L. Sisson and Spc. Robert A. Pierce died from a SVBIRD attack in Tsamkani, Afghanistan on Monday, June 3rd.


Afghans Say New Bodies Have Been Found Near a Former U.S. Base


Reported security incidents
#1: According to local authorities in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, at least six civilians were killed following separate explosions in this province on Tuesday.Provincial governor spokesman Omar Zwak confirming the report said the incident took place in Sangin district.

#2: Eighteen militants have been killed in a series of military operations in different Afghan provinces, the country's Interior Ministry said Wednesday. "Afghan National Police (ANP) in coordination with the army, intelligence service and the NATO-led coalition forces conducted several military operations in Helmand, Zabul, Nangarhar, Kunduz and Ghor provinces over the last 24 hours. As results 18 armed Taliban were killed, six wounded and two other armed Taliban were arrested," the ministry said in a press statement.

#3: Earlier on Wednesday, the ANP police shot dead a would-be suicide bomber in the country's eastern province of Wardak. The attacker tried to assault an agriculture school in the provincial capital Maidan Shahr city, 35 km west of Kabul, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the ANP also defused the suicide jacket besides launching a probe into the incident.

#4: In another development, a child was killed and three civilians were wounded when a rocket fired by Taliban hit a residential area in Char Dara district of the northern Kunduz province 250 km north of Kabul on Tuesday, a provincial official said Wednesday.


DoD: Warrant Officer Sean W. Mullen

DoD: Staff Sgt. Job M. Reigoux

DoD: 2nd Lt. Justin L. Sisson

DoD: Spc. Robert A. Pierce

Posted by whisker at 4:40 AM

1 comments:

Cervantes said...

Robert Bales will plead guilty today and he is expected to give a detailed allocution of his actions when he murdered 16 Afghan civilians. What he will probably not talk about today is his motivation, which will be addressed in the penalty phase. However, I will say this: if you train young men to be remorseless killers; then subject them to relentless stress including constant exposure to the violent deaths of enemies, non-combatants, and comrades in arms (four combat deployments, in his case); add to that traumatic brain injury; you're going to have lots of really bad shit happen. That's war, folks. There is nothing glorious about it.

June 5, 2013 at 7:12 AM

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