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, September 19, 2013

War News for Thursday, September 19, 2013

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-combat related injury somewhere in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, September 19th.


Reported security incidents
#1: Taliban fighters have attacked police in northern Afghanistan, government officials said on Thursday, though they gave different accounts of the severity of the attack. The insurgents ambushed a police convoy during an operation to clear an area in Badakhshan province on Wednesday, said Dawlat Mohammad, administrative chief of the district. Mohammad said 10 policemen were killed and 16 were captured.

#2: National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Thursday announced, a suicide bomber was arrested in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan before the bomber manage to carry out suicide attack in this province.

#3: According to local authorities in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, at least 10 Afghan police officers were killed or injured following clashes among the police forces. The incident reportedly took place in Khanshin district following verbal clashes among the police officers, leaving at least 3 service members dead and 7 others injured.

Posted by whisker at 4:17 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)