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, May 31, 2014

War News for Saturday, May 31, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: A roadside bomb killed 14 civilians in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said. The victims were travelling in the Giro district of Ghazni province after a wedding ceremony when the bomb ripped through their vehicle, district governor Abdullah Khairkhwah told AFP.
#2: Backed by helicopter gunships, Pakistani troops on Saturday killed 14 militants following an attack on army posts near the Afghan border, two army officers and a government official said. The attack began after dozens of insurgents sneaked across the border into Pakistan's northwestern tribal region of Bajur and hit at least two military checkpoints, killing one soldier and wounding two others, local government administrator Shah Naseem said.

#3: Four civilians were killed and ten others were injured after Pakistani gunship helicopters pounded civilian homes in the Dangam district of eastern Kunar province on Saturday, an official said. The attack involving two choppers began around 8am on Saturday and was still ongoing, Governor Shujaul Mulk Jalala said. He said the dead and wounded included women and children.

#4: Up to 23 militants have been killed in Afghanistan within day, said the Afghan Interior Ministry on Saturday morning.

#5: The head of security guards for education minister was killed by militants two days after he was abducted in Maidan Wardak province.


DoD: Pfc. Jacob H. Wykstra

Posted by whisker at 5:44 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)