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, December 16, 2014

War News for Tuesday, December 16, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: Taliban insurgents launched a massive attack against local security forces in eastern Kunar province and Afghan army units have been deployed to repulse the assault, officials said Tuesday. Fighting broke out Sunday in Dangam district near the Pakistani border when fighters allied with the Pakistan-based Tehrik-i-Taliban attempted to infiltrate Afghanistan, Kunar province’s police chief, Abdul Habib Saidkhail, said. About 2,000 insurgents are involved in the fight.

#2: Taliban gunmen have stormed a military-run school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least 84 people in the worst attack to hit the country in over a year.

At least 130 people were killed and 122 injured on Tuesday in an attack by Taliban militants on a Pakistani high school, a provincial official said.

#3: Eight Afghan and Pakistani Taliban insurgents including a commander of them were killed in drone attack of NATO forces in the east of the country late yesterday night. The insurgents were targeted in suburb of Waigal district bazaar of Nooristan province and killed.

#4: Five armed Taliban including a Pakistani fighter were killed and 11 others wounded in a clash in Nangarhar province this morning. The clash occurred in Pecheragam district while a group of insurgents attacked on a military base in Bamakhail region.

#5: Afghan National Policeman was martyred by Taliban militants in Baghlan province last night. Gohar Khan Babori district governor of Baghlan Markazai told BNA, the policeman, while patrolling the area shot dead by Taliban rebels in Chawk Amam Qetaba region of the district.

#6: At least five Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were martyred in the latest wave of violence, defense officials said Tuesday.

Posted by whisker at 3:47 AM

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am sad to see you will no longer be posting . I check in daily. My son still serves. Please reconsider. This is the most valuable and accurate news source I have been able to find. It is a lifeline for some of us with loved ones still abroad.

December 16, 2014 at 9:50 AM

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