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, September 30, 2014

War News for Tuesday, September 30, 2014


184 polio cases reported in Pakistan this year

Pakistan anti-polio campaign misses over 16,000 children

Afghanistan and USA ink long-awaited security agreement

from the long war journal:  Islamic State ambushes Iraqi military column near Ramadi -- off topic but some good details for a change from the corporate media -- whisker

Reported security incidents
#1: Three people were injured on Tuesday when a polio team was attacked in Gujranwala. On August 31, the Gujranwala district health office had announced that a polio vaccination campaign would be launched on September 29.

#2: One militant has reportedly been killed in an ongoing encounter between the army and militants in  Jammu and Kashmir's  Kupwara district on Tuesday.

#3: At least 47 Taliban militants were killed and 26 others were injured following counter-terrorism operations in the past 24 hours.

#4: At least 6 Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were martyred following roadside bomb explosion, defense officials said Tuesday. The exact location of the incident where the 6 Afghan army soldiers were martyred was not disclosed.

Posted by whisker at 4:55 AM

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