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, January 18, 2017

Update for Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Army Lt. Gen. Talib Shaghati, commander of counter-terroism forces, says that Iraqi forces have now secured all of Mosul east of the Tigris. However, other officers dispute this and there is clearly at least skirmishing continuing.

Six months after Iraqi forces retook Fallujah, reconstruction is stalled. Water and electricity have yet to be restored, and most housing is in ruins. While the government pleads a shortage of resources, the situation threatens to further alienate the Sunni population from the Shiite-dominated government.

PM Abadi calls on Islamic Alliance to provide help with rebuilding. 

IS attack on police HQ south of Tikrit kills 6 police officers, wounds 8, and four are abducted.

You may recall that Saddam Hussein diverted the water from the homeland of the so-called Marsh Arabs in southern Iraq, to revenge what he said was their harboring of Shiite rebels. The new regime has restored the water flow and has worked to restore the terrain, and the people are beginning to return to their homes and their way of life. Now if that can just start to happen in Anbar . . .






Posted by Cervantes at 12:06 PM

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I am probably the only person in the world who has read every single post you have made for this web site, it has been many years now Cervantes and I have read tens of thousands of articles you have provided links to. Indeed sir I know that you have put a lot of work into hosting this site with all of your preparation and I appreciate it greatly, Thank you Cervantes! Not all of the articles have been based on fact as opposed to speculation or propaganda based on fake news, but many of the articles have had facts in them. Of course even you have claimed that you have not fully believed all of the authors who have written about the wars in the Middle East and Asia since 9/11. Happy New Year Cervantes, and to you I tip my hat for your coverage of the wars in the Middle East and Asia since 9/11, you deserve credit for spending a lot of time working on this web site overall! I am writing my own book currently which will in part include writing about the wars in the Middle East and Asia since 9/11 happened many years ago!

January 21, 2017 at 4:02 AM
Unknown said...

Of course my book will be based on complete facts as should be the case. Indeed many authors print writings based on fake news!

January 21, 2017 at 4:06 AM
Cervantes said...

Thanks. As you know I'm not convinced of your genius but I do appreciate the nod.

January 25, 2017 at 6:35 AM

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