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


Tuesday, November 26, 2013

War News for Tuesday, November 26, 2013


Militants release Pakistan polio workers


Reported security incidents
#1: Army gunship helicopters have shelled the position of terrorists in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan Agency. The Pakistan Army launched an attack against militants in different areas of North Waziristan's tribal region that borders war-stricken Afghanistan, sources said Tuesday.

#2: According to police, two armed motorcyclists opened fire at a local bus on Sariab Road near Gahi Khan Chowk resultantly injuring two persons and sped away. The injured were rushed to Civil Hospital Quetta but both succumbed to their wounds on the way.

#3: Two militants were killed and four policemen were wounded early Tuesday morning in an engagement in the eastern Afghan province of Laghman, said the provincial government. "An unknown number of militants launched an armed attack against Afghan Local Police (ALP) security checkpoint at around 2: 00 a.m. (local time) in Shamtayo area of the province. The ALP repelled the attack, killing two militants," the provincial government said in a statement.

#4: several shops were damaged and their classes were smashed following a bomb explosion near a music shop in Jalalabad, the provincial capital of the eastern Nangarhar Province Monday evening, a police official told Xinhua. The blast caused no human casualties, the source noted.

#5: According to local authorities in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, a helicopter belonging to Afghan forces has crashed in this province. The helicopter has reportedly crashed in Haidar Khan area of eastern Nangarhar province late Monday, Shirzad district chief confirmed.

#6: An explosion rocked took place in capital Kabul early Tuesday morning, security officials in Kabul city said. The interior ministry of Afghanistan following a statement confirmed the report and said no casualties were reported following the blast.

Posted by whisker at 4:29 AM

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