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, August 29, 2017

Update for Tuesday, August 29, 2017


After making rapid advances and seizing much of Tal Afar, Iraqi government and allied forces are now facing stiff resistance in Ayadhiya, to which IS forces retreated.

Provincial councilors in Kirkuk vote to take part in the Kurdistan independence referendum, in a session boycotted by Arab and Turkmen members. The Turkish foreign ministry condemns the vote.

After SecDef Mattis visits Erbil, the pentagon has little to say about the trip. Kurdistan24 believes the U.S. will not oppose the independence referendum but provides no real evidence. (The lack of a functioning State Department makes it difficult for anyone to know. -- C)

In Afghanistan, a suicide bombing at a bank branch near the U.S. embassy kills 5 and injures 9.

An airstrike in Herat is said to kill 13 civilians along with targeted Taliban. It appears this was likely conducted by Afghan forces, though that is not confirmed. TOLO, however, says 16 civilians were killed and that the attackers were "foreign forces."

Suicide attack on Afghan forces in Helmand on Sunday kills 13.




Posted by Cervantes at 10:33 AM

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