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, October 10, 2013

War News for Thursday, October 10, 2013


New details emerge about how four U.S. military members died in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: An armed clash left three militant commanders dead in Afghanistan\'s Kunnar province, which borders Pakistan, sources said on Thursday. The sources and eyewitnesses said that dozens of Afghan Taliban militants launched an attack on Pakistani militants based in Ghaziabad area of Kunnar, killing three extremist commanders and injuring many others. The sources said that the slain commanders belonged to Swat. Some sources also claimed that Mullah Fazlullah alias mullah Radio, fugitive chief of Swati Taliban, was also killed in the attack. However, the Pakistani militants rejected the reports.

#2: Three security personnel were injured in an explosion on Ring Road here on Thursday. According MPA Nighat Orakzai who was an eyewitness, the explosion took place near a security force vehicle deployed to provide security to members of the anti-polio team. Orakzai added that there were seven people in the vehicle at the time of the explosion.

#3: According to local authorities in Daykundi province of Afghanistan, at least 26 Taliban militants were killed and 34 others were injured following clashes with the Afghan security forces. The militants were killed during military operation conducted by Afghan police and Afghan army to retake the control of a former ISAF military base which was seized by Taliban militants.


DoD: Spc. Angel L. Lopez

Posted by whisker at 4:37 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)