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


Saturday, November 8, 2014

War News for Saturday, November 8, 2014


Putin: Ready to support Afghanistan after NATO exit


Reported security incidents
#1: Late Friday night, militants attacked security forces in the Spin Qamar region of the tribal area, 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, government administrator Khalid Khan said. The gun battle raged for several hours and soldiers found the 17 bodies, all identified as militants, early Saturday morning in three different locations, Khan said.

#2: At least six people were killed and four others injured on Friday night in twin blasts in Pakistan 's northwestern tribal region of Mohmand Agency, local media reported. According to the report, the first blast hit two members of the pro-government Peace Committee, who were riding on a motorcycle in the Chinari village of Safi Tehsil at the border with Afghanistan.

#3: Four Taliban militants were killed and seven others sustained injuries as a car bomb went off outside Helmand's provincial capital Lashkar Gah 555 km south of Kabul on Saturday, provincial police chief Juma Gul Humat said. "A group of Taliban militants driving an explosive-laden car planned to detonate it in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, but the car exploded accidentally in Mukhtar Qala area outside the provincial capital at around 11:00 a.m. local time today," Humat told Xinhua.

#4: At least 23 militants were killed following military operations led by Afghan National Army (ANA) forces, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) said.

Posted by whisker at 3:21 AM

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