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 31, 2013

War News for Wednesday, July 31, 2013

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 30th.
 
The DoD is reporting the death of a soldier previously unreported by the military. Sgt. Stephen M. New died from a small arms weapons attack in the Sarobi District of Kabul Province, Afghanistan on Sunday, July 28th.


Authorities say Afghanistan War vet killed fiancee's mom, self

Teurlings graduate injured in battle in Afghanistan

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan spike in first half of 2013

Manning Is Acquitted of Aiding the Enemy


Reported security incidents
#1: Two persons were killed and four others sustained injuries when explosives went off in a warehouse on Ring Road on Tuesday. The police said that three dud shells were lying in a scrap godown of an Afghan national Asal Khan on Ring Road near Hazarkhwani. They said the shells went off all of a sudden, killing two young boys, Asad and Misal Khan, and injuring four others.

#2: At least five militants were killed and two policemen wounded during a fierce clash between the security forces and the rebels in southern province of Kandahar, an official said Wednesday. The conflict between the forces loyal to the government and the Taliban fighters happened last night in Dicoyat area of Maiwand district.


US/DoD: Sgt. Stephen M. New

Posted by whisker at 4:33 AM

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