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, June 9, 2016

Update for Thursday, June 9, 2016


Estimates of the number of civilians trapped in Fallujah have grown to 90,000 as escapees report horrendous conditions.

IS bombing campaign claims 27 lives in 2 incidents in and near Baghdad.

An explosion near a military base in Baghdad where New Zealand personnel are stationed is said to have resulted in casualties but no foreign troops were affected.

Government and allied forces claim continuing advances in Fallujah but little definitive information is available about the state of battle.

Human Rights Watch continues to receive reports of abuse and murder of civilians in Fallujah by Iraqi government and Shiite militia forces:

"The Iraqi government needs to control and hold accountable its own forces if it hopes to claim the moral upper hand in its fight against (IS)," said Joe Stork, HRW's deputy Middle East director. "It's high time for Iraqi authorities to unravel the web of culpability underlying the government forces' repeated outrages against civilians," a HRW statement quoted him as saying.

Shiite militia leaders claim that IS is evacuating its family members from Fallujah. This may be correct or it may be an excuse for their treatment of fleeing civilians, as "Continuing further Jumaili added, “The security forces are checking the names of the displaced people from the city before evacuating them to the IDP [internally displaced persons] camps.”





Posted by Cervantes at 7:59 AM

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