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, March 21, 2017

Update for Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Ishaan Taroor in WaPo discusses the current state of affairs in Iraq, and the new administration's conflicting and unclear policy intentions, in the context of PM Abadi's visit. The visit was overshadowed by FBI Director Comey's appearance on Capitol Hill -- just one more sign that the endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are largely forgotten in the U.S.

Andrew Bacevich, in TomDispatch, discusses the vast U.S. Centcom operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere; and the obliviousness of commander Gen. Joseph Votel. TL;DR

Meanwhile, the grinding battle for Mosul continues with the Iraqi army's efforts to evacuate civilians hampered by sniper fire.  Reuters also reports that Abadi claims to have won assurances of increased U.S. support, although it is not clear precisely what that means.

Car bombs are still exploding in Baghdad, with the latest killing 23 people.


Posted by Cervantes at 7:53 AM

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

SAND WILL TURN INTO GLASS Get ALL woman and child to a safe area by grid and DO IT. But get the innocent people out first. SAND TO GLASS
DO IT make sure you get the terrorist especially the Taliban and Isis DO IT, DO IT, DO IT

March 26, 2017 at 3:14 AM

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