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, October 15, 2014

War News for Wednesday, October 15, 2014


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The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons


Reported security incidents
#1: The deadliest attack, the car bombing, struck Afghan soldiers during an operation targeting the hideout of suspected suicide bombers in the eastern province of Khost late Tuesday night, according to a statement from the provincial governor's office. Soldiers killed three suspected suicide bombers, including a woman, during the assault, the statement said. After the assault, a car bomb in the compound exploded, killing eight soldiers and wounding five, it said. The statement did not say why or how the bomb exploded.

#2: In Helmand province Tuesday night, gunmen ambushed and killed Nad Ali district chief Mohammad Anwar Khan and his guard, said Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Zwak said the attack also wounded six police officers.

#3: NATO gunship helicopters violated Pakistani airspace by entering territory near its border with Afghanistan, media reported Wednesday. According to officials, at least five helicopters were seen flying near the border and two of them entered Pakistani territory in Torkham and Pasidkhel, Dawn online reported. The helicopters remained in Pakistani airspace for 10 minutes and returned without any action.

#4: At least six members of an anti-Taliban movement were killed Tuesday in an attack in eastern Afghanistan, an official said. “Taliban attacked on an outpost of public uprising militias in Baraki Barak district, killing all six people,” said Mohammad Darwish, a spokesman for the governor of the eastern province of Logar.

#5: A big blast rocked the western part of Kabul city on Wednesday, causing panic among the locals, a local said.

#6: At least three soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) were martyred following an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said Wednesday that the three soldiers were martyred in the past 24 hours.

#7: The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said Wednesday at least 25 Taliban militants were killed and 14 others were injured during joint military operations in the past 24 hours.

Posted by whisker at 4:22 AM

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