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


Wednesday, April 9, 2014

War News for Wednesday, April 09, 2014




BBC   Nato troops in Afghanistan 'often made conflict worse' -- A Territorial Army captain has resigned to publish a book critical of British actions in Afghanistan. He quit his role in the TA after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) refused to give him permission to publish the study.


Reported security incidents
#1: A bomb has ripped through a fruit and vegetable market on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, killing at least 18 people and leaving dozens more wounded.

#2: Fresh clashes on Tuesday between two feuding factions of the Pakistani Taliban left 14 people dead, security officials and militant sources said. A total of 34 people have now been killed since fighting broke out Sunday in the Waziristan tribal district between supporters of Khan Said Sajna and followers of the late Hakimullah Mehsud, they said. Militant sources suggested that differences emerged after Khan Said Sajna, a senior commander, was rejected for leadership of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) umbrella group, after its former leader Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a U.S. drone strike last November.

#3: At least 35 Taliban have been killed throughout several provinces of Afghanistan in the last 24 hours, Afghan Ministry of Interior claimed on Wednesday.

#4: Kabul (BNA) including two Pakistani nationals’ twelve insurgents was killed during a military operation in Nangarhar province.

Posted by whisker at 4:16 AM

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