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, November 18, 2014

War News for Tuesday, November 18, 2014


850 (German) troops 'to stay' in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: A Taliban attack, involving at least one suicide bomber, targeted a foreigners' compound in Kabul early on Tuesday, killing four people in the latest fatal blast to hit the Afghan capital. Two Afghan security guards were among the four killed, said the ministry. Three civilians were also wounded in the attack, which involved three attackers, including the truck's driver.


Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/11/17/4331987/at-least-2-dead-in-attack-in-kabul.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/11/17/4331987/at-least-2-dead-in-attack-in-kabul.html#storylink=cpy

#2: Also Tuesday, in eastern Khost province, a woman died when the van she was travelling in hit a roadside bomb, said Mubariz Mohammad Zadran, spokesman for the provincial governor. Another 13 people, including children, were wounded.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/11/17/4331987/at-least-2-dead-in-attack-in-kabul.html#storylink=cpy

#3: At least two people, including a child, were killed and five children injured in a roadside blast in the Nasti Kot area of Pakistan's Kurram tribal region on Tuesday, a media report said. According to officials, an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on the roadside in the region's Parachinar district, was detonated as a school van passed by, killing the driver and a child, Dawn online reported.

#4: The bodies of four persons killed by gun shots were found dumped in gunny sacks in Risalpur area of Nowshera district here on Tuesday.

Posted by whisker at 3:01 AM

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