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, June 14, 2014

War News for Saturday, June 14, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: There were reports of three explosions on the north side of the Afghan capital and one on the west side just before polls opened, but officials said there were no casualties.

#2: Abdul Wahed Pathan, deputy governor for the eastern province of Khost, told dpa news agency that five children were killed and six other people wounded when a rocket hit a house in Alisher district. Also in the east, AFP news agency reported that a rocket hit a polling station, killing two voters.

#3: At least one person was killed and two security personnel injured in twin blasts near Khanpur in Mansehra. The first blast occurred when an improvised explosive device (IED) fixed along the Shahrah-e-Karakoram went off while the security forces’ convoy was passing through Khanpur area. As a result of explosion two security personnel were injured while a vehicle was also damaged. Police said that the convoy was on its way to Gilgit from Rawalpindi when the blast occurred. Sources said the second blast took place at the same place while the rescue operation was in progress and the injured were being shifted to the hospital for treatment. A private vehicle was damaged in this attack and a passenger was killed.

Posted by whisker at 5:24 AM

1 comments:

Cervantes said...

Well, at least the run-off voting seems to have gone reasonably well. Won't have results for weeks, however. Doesn't much matter though, the candidates are pretty similar.

June 14, 2014 at 7:01 AM

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