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, November 22, 2013

War News for Friday, November 22, 2013


Reported security incidents
#1: Units of Afghan police backed by the army have killed a dozen Taliban militants during series of operations across the country over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Friday. “In past 24 hours, Afghan National Police backed by the army and have killed 12 Taliban rebels in Kabul, Balkh, Kandahar, Maidan Wardak, Logar, Nimroz and Helmand provinces,” the statement added.

Posted by whisker at 4:25 AM

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