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, March 8, 2014

War News for Saturday, March 08, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: A bomb blast in Jalalabad city in Afghanistan on Saturday killed a district governor and injured five others, a local official said. “The bomb was planted inside the vehicle of Noor Agha Kamran, the Governor of Nazian district, and the device exploded around 9 a.m. killing the district governor and injuring one policeman and four civilians,” a public relations officer at the provincial government office added.

#2: At least 26 Taliban militants were killed or injured following military operations by Afghan national security forces in various provinces of the country.

Posted by whisker at 4:10 AM

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