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, December 5, 2013

War News for Thursday, December 05, 2013


Guards battle armed men inside Yemen Defence Ministry -source


Reported security incidents
#1: Shortly after midnight on Nov. 29, a large rocket exploded in the barracks building where Albert Haas was sleeping, killing him and and a female civilian worker, Kenneth Haas said. Albert Haas' employer, AAR Airlift, of Palm Bay, Fla.

#2: Militants killed one policeman and wounded another in an attack on a checkpost in northwestern Pakistan, officials said on Thursday. The attack took place on the outskirts of Bannu town, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, which has seen several terrorist attacks in the past – many of them targeting security officials. “A group of up to five militants riding motorbikes attacked the checkpost late on Wednesday night, threw hand grenades and later opened fire, killing one policeman and wounding another one,” local police official Noor Wali said.

#3: At least six Afghan civilians were injured Thursday as a suicide bombing hit a foreign troops' convoy in Maiwand district of southern Kandahar province, said a provincial source.

At least 30 people have been reportedly killed or injured following a suicide attack in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan on Thursday. Mr. Faisal further added that a suicide bomber targeted a convoy of the coalition security forces in the busy market. The source further added that four coalition security forces were also injured in the attack.

#4: Meantime, a security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "four foreign soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians were wounded in the blast which took place at the busy marketplace at around 1:00 p.m. (local time) in Maiwand district, western of provincial capital Kandahar city."

#5: An explosion went off in Afghanistan' s capital of Kabul late Wednesday night, causing panic among the residents, witnesses and officials said early Thursday morning. Meantime, a security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "an explosion went off in Dar-ul-Aman road, near the parliament building. An investigation was launched into the incident and details will be public afterwards,"

Posted by whisker at 3:47 AM

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