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


Wednesday, July 16, 2014

War News for Wednesday, July 16, 2014

News reports that a Czech soldier has died in Prague's military hospital on Monday, July 13th. The soldier was wounded in a suicide bombing which killed for other Czech soldiers on Tuesday, July 8th.


French Soldier Killed in Mali Suicide Attack

Militants Repel Iraqi Government Assault On Tikrit


Reported security incidents
#1: A US drone strike on Wednesday killed at least 13 people in a suspected militant compound in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt. "A US drone fired two missiles targeting a militant compound in Zoi Saidgai area, killing at least 13 insurgents," a senior security official in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, told AFP.

#2: Elsewhere in North Waziristan, air strikes in the Shawal Valley killed 35 militants, according to a statement from the military.

#3: At least three Afghan national army soldiers were martyred following separate improvised explosive device (IED) attacks.

#4: In the meantime defense ministey said at lease 37 militants were killed during opeations by Afghan soldiers in Khost, Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

#5: Unknown gunmen kidnapped the aid workers of a US-based non-governmental organization in western Herat province of Afghanistan. According to local government officials, the four aid workers were kidnapped by gunmen in Gozara district late Tuesday.

#6: At least 61 rockets have been fired in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan in the latest wave of cross-border shelling.

#7: A heavy explosion was heard in capital Kabul early Wednesday morning after a rocket landed in side the Kabul airport. Initial reports suggested that two rockets landed near Kabul airport without causing any casualties.

Posted by whisker at 3:52 AM

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