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, April 12, 2014

War News for Saturday, April 12, 2014


Second Army officer quits to publish harrowing account of the tragic cost of the Afghanistan war

At least four dead in Afghan quake


Reported security incidents
#1: update to Fridays #1-2 post -- Six militants were killed when their vehicle was blown up with an remote control bomb in the Shawal area (45 kilometres west of Miranshah) of the restless tribal belt.

#2: A suicide bomber blew himself up in a market Friday in eastern Afghanistan, killing a pro-government tribal elder and wounding three civilians, authorities said. The bombing struck the tribal elder Gul Babri at about 2 p.m. in the market of the Jani Khil district of Paktiya province, provincial government spokesman Mokhlis Afghan said.

#3: At least 14 Taliban militants were killed and 9 others were injured during military operations by Afghan national security forces in the past 24 hours.

Posted by whisker at 4:33 AM

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