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, July 17, 2013

War News for Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The DoD is reporting the death of a Marine who was supporting OEF. Lance Cpl. Benjamin W. Tuttle died from unreported causes at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center after a medical evacuation from the aircraft carrier the USS Nimitz during a scheduled port visit in the 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility on Sunday, July 14th.


Qaeda Yemen branch says No 2 killed in US drone strike


Reported security incidents
#1: Officials say gunmen have killed an Afghan prosecutor with ties to President Hamid Karzai in the latest attack targeting those linked to the government. Police Chief Rahmatullah Safi says prosecutor Ahmad Wali Taheri was killed on Wednesday in western Herat province. Taheri was the brother of Karzai’s adviser on national security, Rangin Dafdar Spanta.

#2: Alfred Brenner, 22, a Jackson Township resident and United States Marine serving in Afghanistan was injured in an IED explosion last week. Brenner and his k-9 companion were inspecting a suspected IED device when it was exploded, killing his dog and causing shrapnel wounds to himself and suffered a broken arm.

#3: Twelve civilians were wounded Wednesday morning in two successive blasts in the eastern Afghan province of Paktiya, said a provincial government spokesman. "Two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were detonated back-to- back when two police mobile were passing by Ghanzi-line and Khost- line areas of the provincial capital Gardez city. The first explosion took place at around 11:00 am local time," spokesman Rohullah Sammon told Xinhua. He said no member of police units were harmed in the incident in the city 100 km south of national capital Kabul.

#4: A blast struck a bus near Peshawar Motorway Interchange on Wednesday, Express News reported. No casualties were reported in the incident. According to the driver of the bus, he saw a bomb attached to the bus via a magnet in the side view mirror. He immediately stopped the bus and removed the passengers and the staff from the bus. The blast occurred after everyone got off the bus. On the other hand, other speculations are that the AC compressor exploded, resulting in the blast.


US/DoD:  Lance Cpl. Benjamin W. Tuttle

Posted by whisker at 4:26 AM

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