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


Wednesday, December 25, 2013

War News for Wesnesday, December 25, 2013


Reported security incidents
#1: Two Taliban rockets landed inside the US embassy compound in Kabul early on Wednesday, causing no casualties. Another rocket landed near a hill where former kings and members of the old royal family are buried in a large mausoleum, a spokesman for the National Directorate of Security told AFP

#2: The ministry of interior said four policemen had suffered minor injuries on Wednesday morning when some other explosive ordnance detonated as they were investigating the rocket on Maranjan hill.

#3: One Afghan army soldier was killed while two other soldiers were wounded Wednesday when an army vehicle set off an improvised explosive device (IED) in eastern province of Khost, the provincial government confirmed in a statement.

#4: At least 19 people including Afghan police officers were killed or injured following an explosion in Logar province of Afghanistan on Wednesday. Provincial governor spokesman, Din Mohammad Darwish confirming the report said, the incident took place in Pul-e-Alam city on Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Darwish further added that a bicycle packed with explosives went off in a busy area in Pul-e-Alam city, leaving 4 civilians and 2 police officers dead.

#5: At least 16 militants were killed and 7 others were injured during coordinated military operations across the country, interior ministry said on Wednesday. The militants were killed or injured during the operations conducted during the past 24 hours in various provinces of Afghanistan.


DoD: Sgt. Daniel M. Vasselian

Posted by whisker at 5:22 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)