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


Tuesday, June 3, 2014

War News for Tuesday, June 01, 2014

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, June 2nd.


Bodies of seven 'Taliban' found in Karachi

US Shuts Afghan Transit Base in Kyrgyzstan

Profiles of senior Taliban leaders freed in swap for US soldier

Statement from Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on the return of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl


Reported security incidents
#1: At least seven people were killed and another seven injured after a Parachinar-bound passenger van hit an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Shagni area of Kurram Agency on Tuesday morning.

#2: An Indian aid worker was Monday abducted by unidentified gunmen in Afghanistan’s Herat province, local officials and India’s foreign ministry said.

#3: Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a security patrol in a crowded Islamabad market on Tuesday injuring one police commando, according to officials, in a rare attack in Pakistan's capital.

#4: The Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs on Tuesday said the country's security forces have killed 34 Taliban militants in a series of military operations since early Monday.

#5: According to local authorities in eastern Kunar province, at least 120 more rockets were fired in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan in the latest wave of cross-border shelling. The officials further added that the rockets landed in Shegal and Dangam districts on Tuesday morning.

Posted by whisker at 4:06 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)