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, November 13, 2014

War News for Thursday, November 13, 2014


Bulgarian Soldiers to Depart for NATO's New Mission in Afghanistan

Soldier broken by war silenced by death

Photos:  Car bombing targets a foreign troops' military convoy in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan police say a suspected suicide bomber was killed by international forces in eastern Afghanistan on November 13 when he tried to attack a convoy of NATO-led troops. Hazrat Hosein Mashraqiwal, a spokesman for police in Nangarhar Province, said the attacker was killed by foreign troops before he could get close to the convoy

#2: At least five militants were killed Thursday in a clash with fighters belonging to a peace committee in Pakistan's Khyber Agency. According to officials, the Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) militants attacked the Tauheedul Islam peace committee volunteers in the Narai Baba area of Tirah Valley, Dawn online reported.

#3: Hospital officials and eyewitnesses say at least four displaced people and nine police officers have been injured in a clash during which police opened fire as a crowd jostled for rations at a camp in northern Pakistan.

#4: At least one civilian was killed and five others injured in a bomb attack in southern Afghan province of Kandahar on Thursday, police said. The blast took place at around midday at the Spin Boldak District bazaar when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted in a handcart was detonated, killing one and injuring five, the provincial police spokesman Zia Duranni told Xinhua.

#5: Earlier on Thursday morning, three civilians were killed and another injured when an IED went off inside a house in Kandahar city, capital of Kandahar province, Duranni said.

#6: At least two civilians were killed and another injured following an explosion in a market in Shindand district of western Herat province this noon.

#7: At least one civilian was killed following the second suicide attack on NATO forces convoy in eastern Nangarhar province on Thursday. According to local government officials, the incident around noon in Behsud district of Nangarhar province.

#8: At least four Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were martyred following roadside Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the four ANA soldiers lost their lives in the past 24 hours. No further details were given regarding the exact location of the incident.

Posted by whisker at 3:35 AM

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