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


Friday, October 4, 2013

War News for Friday, October 04, 2013


Soldiers shut down last patrol base


Reported security incidents
#1: Unidentified gunmen kidnapped the director of a non-governmental organization (NGO) from Railway Colony in Quetta on Friday. According to initial reports, unknown armed men had intercepted Director Noor Muhammad’s vehicle near Railway Colony when he was on his way to work.

#2: Four people, including two policemen, were killed and three others injured when the militants raided a security check-post in eastern Afghan province of Laghman overnight, the provincial government said in a statement Friday morning.

#3: A heavy explosion rocked southern Helmand province of Afghanistan late Thursday evening. The incident took place in Lashkargah city of Helmand province after a vehicle packed with explosives went off. Local residents and eye-witnesses in the are saying that a number of people have been killed or injured following the incident.

 

 

Posted by whisker at 4:26 AM

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