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


Sunday, May 6, 2007

Update on May 6 Post

It's been a grim day in Iraq, for all concerned. Here are a couple of late items.

Six Task Force Lightning Soldiers and one civilian journalist died as a result of injuries sustained when their vehicle was attacked with an IED in Diyala Province, Sunday. Two Soldiers were wounded in the attack and evacuated to a Coalition medical facility for treatment.

In the Samarra attack, reported below, U.S. paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire when they rushed to the scene, the U.S. military said. Two Americans were wounded and a vehicle was damaged.

An MND-B Soldier was killed and two others were wounded when their vehicle was struck by two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) north of Baghdad May 6. The unit was conducting a clearing operation in the area when the IED attack occurred.

While conducting a combat patrol an MND-B Soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device struck the unit’s vehicle in a southern section of the Iraqi capital, wounding one other Soldier May 6.

It is with deep sadness that the Ministry of Defence must announce the death of a soldier, who died today, 6 May 2007, as a result of injuries that were sustained in Iraq last week. The soldier, from the Royal Logistic Corps, was very seriously injured on Thursday 3 May 2007, when the heavy equipment transporter the soldier was travelling on as part of a routine re-supply convoy to Basra Palace was struck by an improvised explosive device attack.

Well, let's give it another six months and see if this is really working . . .

Posted by Cervantes at 3:18 PM

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