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 19, 2014

War News for Thursday, June 19, 2014


Tens of thousands flee Pakistan offensive

Afghan election in peril over Abdullah's fraud claims


Reported security incidents
#1: Four Taliban militants struck a NATO post in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar on Thursday, destroying dozens of trucks and sparking a gun battle with police, Afghan officials said. The attack took place in the parking compound of a NATO base near the Torkham crossing on the Pakistani border, near the Khyber Pass and a main supply route for NATO-led forces in land-locked Afghanistan. He said 37 trucks containing fuel and other supplies were destroyed in explosions set off by the attackers.

#2: Four persons were killed and more than twenty injured when a vehicle carrying IDPs from North Waziristan Agency turned turtle while they were on their way to Bannu on Thursday, Geo News reported.

Posted by whisker at 4:05 AM

1 comments:

Dancewater said...

http://wcqs.org/post/wnc-attorney-defends-gitmo-detainees

Above is a radio interview of one of the lawyers for a GITMO detainee who was released recently. I know Frank Goldsmith - a good man.

June 19, 2014 at 9:20 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)