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 18, 2013

War News for Friday, October 18, 2013


Suspected al Qaeda attack in Yemen kills 7 soldiers, security officials say


Reported security incidents
#1: Suspected Taliban militants fired two rockets at an Italian base in the Shindand District of the western Afghanistan Herat Province Friday but no one was hurt.

#2: At least eleven suspected Taliban militants were killed following a NATO airstrike in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan on Thursday.

#3: At least five Afghan police officers were killed following a roadside bomb explosion in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan on Thursday.

Posted by whisker at 4:40 AM

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