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, February 17, 2014

War News for Monday, February 17, 2014

The military is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an roadside bombing attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, February 15th.


Sheriff's Office: Paducah Marine killed in Afghanistan

Plot to kill Afghan parliament member in Ghor province foiled


Reported security incidents
#1: Two policemen were killed while two others were wounded in a bomb attack in western Afghanistan's Farah province, authorities said Monday. "On Sunday evening, a vehicle of the Afghan Public Protection Police Force set off an improvised explosive device, killing two policemen and wounding two others," a provincial police source told Xinhua.

#2: Gun battle between two armed groups in the eastern Wardak province on Sunday night left four militants dead and injured three others, a statement of provincial administration sent to media outlets on Monday said.

#3: At least 36 Taliban militants were killed and injured in various provinces of Afghanistan following military operations conducted by Afghan National Army.

About 17 Taliban militants were killed while 16 others detained in operations carried out by Afghan security forces within the last 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said Monday morning.

#4: A member of the Pakistani government committee tasked with negotiating with the Taliban says they have cancelled a scheduled round of talks after claims by militants that they killed 23 soldiers in their captivity.

#5: A bomb targeting a passenger train in southern Pakistan killed at least seven people and wounded more than 30 yesterday, officials said, the latest in a series of attacks this year. The bomb went off near Unar station, 450 kilometres northwest of Karachi, and badly damaged several carriages.
Officials said the Khushhal Khan Khattak express was travelling to Peshawar from Karachi when it was hit by the blast, which injured more than 30 people and damaged hundreds of metres of track.

#6: Afghan Taliban leader Maulvi Abdul Raqib was shot dead in Peshawar on Monday, Express News reported. He belonged to the Takhar province of Afghanistan. It was reported that Raqib was killed when he was leaving his house.

#7: Four Taliban militants lost their lives in a clash with police in Badakhshan Province with Faizabad as its capital, 315 km northeast of Kabul, on Monday, provincial police chief Jahangir Karamat said. "A group of Taliban rebels raided a police checkpoint in Yamgan District in the wee hours of Monday and police returned fire, killing four militants on the spot," Karamat told Xinhua.

Posted by whisker at 3:34 AM

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