Successor to Today in Iraq
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.
You may be wondering why I didn't post yesterday as PM Abadi declared "victory" in Mosul. It's because he made the declaration for no particular reason, as fighting in Mosul continues.
Fighting in Mosul may end today, however.
Al Bawaba has a roundup of info and photos. The devastation and human toll are incalculable.
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4:39 AM
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