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


Tuesday, March 4, 2014

War News for Tuesday, March 04, 2014

The DoD is reporting the death of an ISAF airman which was previously unreported by the military. Master Sgt. David L. Poirier died from a non-combat related incident in an undisclosed location on Friday, February 28th.
 

War Deaths Top 13,000 in Afghan Security Forces -- This may not seem to be so bad but when wounded are taken into account the ASF has lost around 50k from their forces mostly within the last three years. Most units are likely not combat reliable from the lack of experienced people. – whisker

President Karzai says Afghan war fought in West’s interest


Reported security incidents
#1: Gunmen attacked four vehicles carrying NATO supplies for Afghanistan in northwestern Khyber tribal agency on Tuesday, killing two people, officials said. The vehicles came under fire in the Jamrud area of Khyber, one of seven districts that make up Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt, as they were on their way to Afghanistan. “The four containers were on their way to Afghanistan when four gunmen riding two motorbikes opened fire at them in Jamrud, killing two helpers and wounding one driver and one helper,” a senior local administration official, Jehangir Azam Wazir, told AFP.

#2: Two women were killed while two men were seriously wounded Monday in a roadside bombing in eastern Afghanistan's province of Paktika, authorities said.

#3: A bomb killed at least two paramilitary troops and wounded six others in a restive Pakistani tribal region bordering Afghanistan, officials said on Monday. The incident happened in Sadokhel area of Khyber tribal region where Taliban and Lashkare Islam groups are active. “An improvised explosive device planted along the roadside went off as two vehicles of paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) passed by, killing two soldiers and wounding six others,” senior local administration official Muhammad Tayyab Ali said.

#4: The Afghan Interior Ministry on Tuesday said that the country's security forces have eliminated seven Taliban militants during a series of military operations since early Monday. "Afghan National Security Forces launched several cleanup operations in Laghman, Kandahar and Paktiya provinces, killing seven Taliban militant members, wounding three militants and detaining six other rebels over the last 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement.


DoD: Lance Cpl. Caleb L. Erickson

DoD: Master Sgt. David L. Poirier

Posted by whisker at 3:46 AM

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