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, April 21, 2014

War News for Monday, April 21, 2014


Pakistani Journalist Targeted, Shot by Militants

335 NATO bases transferred to Afghan security forces


Reported security incidents
#1: Up to 29 Taliban militants were killed while 11 others wounded in a series of military operations across Afghanistan since early Sunday, said the country's Interior Ministry on Monday.

#2: At least three people were killed and one injured on Monday when armed motorcyclists began firing indiscriminately in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's Balochistan province, police said. Armed motorcyclists began firing indiscriminately at a Land Cruiser, killing on the spot the two people who were inside the vehicle, Dawn online reported citing Superintendent of Police Imran Qureshi.

#3: According to local authorities in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan, unknown gunmen have shot dead a provincial council candidate in Quetta city of Pakistan. Provincial governor spokesman, Dawa Khan Meenapal said the provincial council candidate Shah Mahmood Jalali was assassinated on Saturday.

#4: One Afghan soldier was killed in a bomb attack, said the country's Defense Ministry on Monday.

Posted by whisker at 4:45 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)