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


Monday, January 13, 2014

War News for Monday, January 13, 2014


Defeat in Afghanistan

Clashes Between Militants and Army Spread in Iraq

Afghan National Army conducts large-scale operation


Reported security incidents
#1: Unknown gunmen shot dead two persons and fled from the scene here in Nowshera on Monday. Police said that the firing incident took place in main market near Pabbi Station of Nowshera. Both persons were killed on the spot in the firing incident and armed motorcyclists managed to escape after committing dual murder, police said.

#2: Six people died Sunday when two improvised explosive devices detonated near the car of the adviser to the prime minister of Pakistan, officials said. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's adviser Amir Muqam was not injured in the blast, which happened in the Martong area near Poran, Dawn News reported. Two police officers and four civilians were among those killed, police said.

#3: At least six security personnel were killed and two others injured when a bomb went off near the convoy of a political leader in Pakistan's northwestern Shangla district Sunday afternoon, local Urdu TV channel Abb Takk reported.

Posted by whisker at 3:07 AM

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