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


Thursday, May 8, 2014

War News for Thursday, May 08, 2014


Four Slovenian soldiers remain in Afghanistan: report


Reported security incident:
#1: A roadside bomb killed at least eight soldiers and wounded several others in a restive Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan on Thursday, the military said. The bomb exploded as a military convoy passed in the village of Ghulamkhan in troubled North Waziristan.

#2: Five militants were killed and three injured as clashes between two factions of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) continued in North Waziristan Agency on Wednesday, sources said. The fighting erupted between the groups led by Sheher Yar and Khan Said alias Sajna in Shawal, a mountainous area near Afghan border, on Tuesday.

#3: One soldier was killed while three other soldiers were wounded earlier on Wednesday in a bomb attack in southern Afghan province of Kandahar, according a source. "An army Jeep was struck by a roadside bomb in Zharay district at around 6:30 a.m. local time, leaving one army soldier killed and three others wounded," a security official in the district told Xinhua.

#4: Four mine planters of Taliban killed during planting of mines in Ghazni province last night. Nazifullah Sultani spokesman of 203 army corps of that province said BNA, the mine planters wanted to plant a mine in Asfandi region, Ghazni province the mine exploded and killed them.

At least 29 Taliban militants were killed following military operations conducted by Afghan national army (ANA) soldiers in eastern Ghazni province. A spokesman for the Afghan National Army Thunder Corps, Nazifullah Sultani said the militants were killed during the operations in the past 24 hours.

#5: At least seven anti-government armed militants were killed following a drone strike in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. Local governmetn officials in Nangarhar province said the militants were killed on Wednesday morning in Chaparhar district.

Posted by whisker at 4:13 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)