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, September 25, 2014

War News for Thursday, September 25, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: A group of insurgents attacked a marble mine in Chesht district of western Herat province on Wednesday night, local officials said on Thursday. According to the provincial officials, the attack started around 9 p.m. Wednesday night and continued until 1 a.m. The attack claimed the life of one mine worker and wounded three others. The insurgents kidnapped four other workers upon fleeing the area.

#2: A bomb blast ripped through a bazaar in Maimana city the capital of Faryab province 425 km northwest of Kabul on Thursday killing one person and wounding 18 others, deputy to provincial police chief Mohammad Naem Andarabi said. "Militants planted explosive device on a bicycle and detonated it next to a police vehicle parked in the bazaar of Maimana as a result one person was killed on the spot and 18 others, all civilians sustained injuries, some in critical condition," Andarabi told Xinhua. Since the police van was empty, no police personnel were harmed, the official said.

#3: A bomb blast rocked the southern town of Spin Boldak in Taliban former stronghold Kandahar province 450 km south of Kabul on Thursday, injuring six persons, all civilians, spokesman for provincial government Samim Khapalwak said.

#3: Two civilians including a Pakistani immigrant were killed in attack of Taliban in Kunar province today. Abdul Habib Syeedkhail police chief of Kunar said BNA; two civilians which one of them is Pakistani immigrant were killed in attack of armed Taliban in Ozbel region, Asmar district, Kunar province.

#4: According to another report, four armed Taliban were killed in clashes by security forces in Ghaziabad district of that province. According to the source, Taliban attacked on police post in Ghaziabad district, in clashes between Taliban and police forces, four armed Taliban lost their lives. It should be said that there were no casualties among civilians and police forces in the clashes. 

#5: At least two American soldiers were injured following an explosion in northern Parwan province of Afghanistan. District administrative chief, Abdul Shakoor Qadusi, said an armoured vehicle of the US forces struck an improvised explosive device (IED) in Bagram on Wednesday night.

#6: Unknown gunmen shot dead a prosecutor in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, local officials said Thursday. Provincial police spokesman, Farid Ahmad Obaid said the appellate prosecutor was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Lashkargah city late Wednesday.

Posted by whisker at 3:47 AM

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