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 15, 2014

War News for Thursday, May 15, 2014


Afghan election commission formally announces second round of presidential polls --   elections will be held on June 14

Final Afghan vote results released

Results Force Runoff in Afghan Presidential Election

Inside rebel tunnels in Homs -- CNN video


Reported security incidents
#1: A shootout between Afghan and Pakistani border guards killed one Afghan policeman on Thursday in a remote southern region where the border between the two countries is poorly marked, officials said. According to police spokesman Zia Durrani in the Afghan province of Kandahar, the skirmish started shortly after dawn and lasted for about two hours. The two sides engaged in sporadic exchanges, using rifles and firing rockets across the boundary, he said

#2: update An unmanned aircraft fired missiles in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area on Wednesday, killing ten suspected terrorists. According to sources, the drone fired three missiles targeting suspected militants in Nazyan area of Khyber Agency.

#3: Up to 10 people were injured in an explosion Thursday in western Afghan province of Herat, police said. "At around midday, an explosive-laden motorcycle was detonated at the middle of Obe district bazaar. The blast occurred when a police vehicle was running the area, leaving eight civilians and two police wounded," the district police chief Shiraqa Alokozai told Xinhua.

#4: In another development, 10 militants, including three local Taliban leaders were killed when the militants launched an attack against police checkpoints in Gereshk district, southern Helmand province, the provincial government said in a statement, adding no police were hurt in the attack which occurred early Thursday morning.

#5: Eight people, including three police and five militants, were killed Wednesday evening in a skirmish in southern Afghan province of Kandahar, near Pakistan border, source said. "Five militants raided Border Police facilities in Spin Boldak district. Two militants set off their suicide jackets. Three militants were killed by police firing," a police spokesman Zia Durrani told Xinhua. He said three border police were killed while five others got wounded as a result of exchange of the fire lasting for three hours in the district in southern of the provincial capital Kandahar city.

Posted by whisker at 4:02 AM

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