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, August 21, 2014

War News for Thursday, August 21, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: Gunmen in Khyber district opened fire on Thursday on tankers carrying fuel for Nato troops in Afghanistan, killing a driver and wounding two others, officials said. The attack occurred in Sor Kamar village of Khyber district, some 25 kilometres west of Peshawar. Three oil tankers were burnt in the incident, the official added.

#2: An early morning explosion from a remote-controlled bomb wounded four members of the Afghan National Army in eastern Kabul on Thursday. The incident occurred about 6:30 a.m. near a bus stop frequented by ANA members going to work, said a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry.

#3: In Jalalabad city, the provincial capital of eastern Nangarhar province, a sticky bomb attached to a police vehicle was detonated, injuring one civilian and one police officer, a provincial police spokesman told Xinhua.

#4: Five Afghan military trainers were killed by unknown gunmen in Herat province yesterday. The trainers, were working for Herat military academy targeted by unknown gunmen and killed in Angeel district.

#5: A woman was injured following cross-border shelling in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan, local officials said. Gen. Syed Khel further added that 66 rockets were fired which landed in Dangam and Sarkano districts.

Posted by whisker at 5:53 AM

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