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, November 12, 2014

War News for Wednesday, November 12, 2014


RAF Tornados complete Afghan combat mission


Reported security incidents
#1: A suspected U.S. drone strike on a sprawling Taliban hideout in a northwestern tribal region bordering Afghanistan killed six militants yesterday, two intelligence officials said.

#2: Two civilians were killed and another injured in an explosion in Shindand town in Afghanistan's western Herat province Wednesday, police spokesman Abdul Rauf Ahmadi said.

#3: At least 19 militants including some top commanders were killed on Wednesday and five of their hideouts were destroyed in aerial strikes by Pakistani military jets in volatile Khyber Agency in the country’s northwest tribal region.

#4: At least five policemen were killed when some unidentified insurgents attacked a police check point in the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan overnight, police said on Wednesday morning.

#5: French inmate was critically injured after he was stabbed by another prisoner in a jail in northern Faryab province yesterday. Head of Maimana city prison, Sardar Mohammad confirmed that the French national was employee of Red Cross and critically injured by another prisoners following the attack. The employee of the Red Cross wounded while he wanted to distribute winter cloths to inmates of the prison Mohammad further added that the assailant was identified as Arsalan who confessed for attacking the French inmate.

Posted by whisker at 4:21 AM

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