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, June 12, 2014

War News for Thursday, June 12, 2014


Militants on March in Iraq Undo What U.S. Sought

Militants have Bagdad in their sights -- fighters have seized the town of Dhuluiyah, 90km from the capital on Thursday 

The militants were repulsed in heavy fighting when they tried to enter Samarra

Tikrit - the hometown of executed dictator Saddam Hussein - was the second provincial capital to fall on Wednesday

Britain cannot repeat the mistakes of Iraq by sending in troops to tackle ISIS militant uprising, Clegg warns


Reported security incidents
#1: The Pakistani government has condemned two strikes by American drones that have killed 13 suspected militants and marked the resumption of the CIA-led program after a nearly six-month break. Pakistani officials said missiles from suspected American drones slammed into militant hideouts in the North Waziristan tribal areas in two separate incidents on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

#2: Gunmen shot dead a pro-government tribal elder and his son in a restive Pakistani region near the Afghan border, officials said on Thursday. The incident took place in the area of Kitkoot, 32 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of Khar, the capital of Bajaur tribal region.

#3: About 35 Taliban militants have been killed in Afghan army operations within day, said the country's Defense Ministry on Thursday morning. Four army soldiers lost their lives in separate roadside bombings over the same period of time, according to the statement.

Posted by whisker at 4:07 AM

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