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


Sunday, May 8, 2016

Update for Sunday, May 8, 2016

Two Romanian soldiers are killed in southern Afghanistan by attackers wearing Afghan army uniforms. The attackers were killed by return fire. No other details as of yet.

A crash on the Kabul-Kandahar highway involving two buses and a fuel tanker kills more than 50 people. Reckless driving, rather than any hostile act, appears to have been the cause.

Afghan government executes six Taliban prisoners by hanging. Accounts I have found do not identify the condemned or specify their crimes. Many accounts suggest that the reason for carrying out these executions now is a response to last months suicide bombing in Kabul.

A woman is killed by masked gunmen in Herat. Although the account does not identify her or propose a motive this appears to have been a politically motivated assassination.

Update: Thanks to Chet, Romanian soldiers killed in action are identified as Sergeant Dumitrescu Julian and Sergeant Vizireanu Adrian. A third has been airlifted to a U.S military hospital with serious injuries. (Sorry, I don't have a link to English sources.)

Taliban attack a police checkpoint near Kabul, killing one officer. I note that Afghan casualties usually go unidentified.

A U.S. soldier, 1st Lt. David A. Bauders, died in a non-combat incident at al-Asad airbase in Anbar province, Iraq. 





Posted by Cervantes at 5:58 AM

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