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


Saturday, January 11, 2014

War News for Saturday, January 11, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: A gas pipeline was blown Pakistan's Balochistan province by unknown attackers in the early hours of Saturday, police said.

#2: Afghan police backed by the units of national army have killed three armed Taliban militants during series of operations across the country over the past 24 hours, Ministry of Interior said in a statement released here on Saturday.

Posted by whisker at 3:29 AM

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