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, March 10, 2014

War News for Monday, March 10, 2014


Taliban threaten to attack Afghan presidential elections

IDSA: Why Pakistan cannot defeat the Taliban


Reported security incidents
#1: Two policemen were killed and seven civilians wounded in a bomb attack Monday in western Afghanistan's Herat province, police said. The militants detonated an explosives-packed motorcycle in Kushk district around midday, killing two policemen and injuring seven civilians, including a child," provincial police chief Samiullah Qatra told Xinhua.

#2: Three dacoits were killed in an alleged encounter in the Johar Town area of Lahore earlier today. According to the Police, they signaled three suspects riding a motorbike to stop near the Johar Town Commercial Market. The suspects opened fire at the police. The police retaliated and killed all three of them.

#3: Six mortars were fired from Afghanistan hit bordering village of Miran Shah, North Waziristan on Sunday; however, fortunately did not result in any causality. According to sources, the Afghan forces fired six mortars in the suburb areas of Miranshah, one mortar fell in the open air and resulted in a blast while preventing from any causality. Earlier, 25 mortars were fired into Pakistan's tribal area from the Afghan side which resulted in partially damaging the nearby houses.

#4: A bomb blast ripped through a market in Spin Boldak town of the southern Kandahar province, a former stronghold of Taliban, on Sunday killing two persons and wounding another, the police spokesman in the province, Zia Durani, said. "The blast occurred in a scrap market in Spin Boldak town at 01: 10 p.m. local time today, leaving two persons including a father and his son dead and injuring another," Durani told Xinhua.
#5: At least 5 Taliban militants were killed and 6 others were injured following military operations by Afghan national security forces.

Posted by whisker at 3:42 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)