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


Thursday, March 6, 2014

War News for Thursday, March 06, 2014

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier from a non-combat injury at camp bastion, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, March 5th. Here’s the ISAF release.


Reported security incidents
#1: A NATO airstrike on Thursday killed at least five Afghan soldiers in one of the most devastating incidents of friendly fire in the war’s 12-year history. The troops were killed at an outpost in volatile Logar Province, about 50 miles outside of Kabul, according to both U.S. and Afghan officials. It remains unclear how the accident occurred, and officials said it was currently under investigation. Aside from the five soldiers killed, another seven were wounded, according to provincial spokesman Mohammad Darwish.

District governor Khalilullah Kamal, who has visited the scene, said the strike was carried out by a US drone, according to BBC.

#2: A clash in Daimardad District, Maidan Wardak Province, killed two militants, including a commander, and injured six others, governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said.

#3: Separately, a clash in Shah Walikot District, Kandahar Province, killed five Taliban militants, the governor's house said in a statement.

#4: Meanwhile, a roadside bomb in Bala Balok District, Farah Province, wounded three policemen

#5: Afghan security forces raided a Taliban hideout in eastern Laghman province, killing five militants on Thursday, a local official said.

#6: Afghan security forces in operations against anti-government militants raided a house in Saripul province, 350 km north of Kabul, early Wednesday, killing two militants and capturing a Taliban judge, Inspector General Police of the province said. "Acting on tip off, units of police raided a house outside provincial capital Saripul city at 03:30 a.m. local time today and captured a Taliban judge named Mullah Zukria,"Noor Habib Gulbahari told Xinhua.

Posted by whisker at 4:19 AM

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