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 30, 2014

War News for Wednesday, April 30, 2014


‘US came to Afghanistan with TV & cash - they won’t let us go’

Karzai: US and British forces run illegal prisons in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
Afghan troops backed by Western air power killed at least 60 militants near the Pakistan border, Afghanistan’s intelligence agency said on Wednesday, in one of the biggest single assaults against the Taliban-linked Haqqani network. About 300 Haqqani insurgents and foreign fighters came under intensive fire on Monday when they tried to storm Afghan bases in Ziruk district of Paktika province, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said in a statement. Monday’s battle occurred in the southeast province of Paktika.

#2: At least five militants were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb apparently planted by a rival group in Pakistan's troubled northwest, the Taliban and officials said Wednesday.

#3: Four troops including two local policemen were injured when a group of armed rebels attacked an outpost in eastern province of Nangarhar late on yesterday, an official said Wednesday. The incident happened in Farmasi area of Batti Kot district, where Chief Haji Ghaleb in a briefing with Wakht News Agency confirmed that two national and two local policemen were wounded.

Posted by whisker at 4:14 AM

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