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, April 1, 2012

News of the Day for Sunday, April 1, 2012

Roadside bomb kills two local council members and a policeman in Uruzgan late Saturday.

Police officer Tor Jan, leader of a post in Uruzgan, is killed by a an IED in Tirin Kot, Uruzgan, after surviving 16 previous attacks. Note: This does not appear to be the same incident as the above as the story does not mention any other casualties and the date is given as Sunday rather than late Saturday.

This is not a case of political violence per se, but I link to it because it's one more reminder of the status of women in Afghanistan. At least the U.S. backed government does make some effort to prosecute these cases. -- C Kabul police seek a young man who murdered a girl who rejected his wedding proposal and injured two of her sisters in a knife attack.

And, while we're on the subject, A 12 year old girl and a 15 year old boy have been killed in an acid attack because of their friendship. "The bodies were discovered on Friday in wasteland in the Esfandi area of Ghazni province in south central Afghanistan, provincial police chief Zorawar Zahid told AFP." Their faces and bodies were burned by acid. "The attack is the latest incident to highlight the dangers still faced by many young men and women in Afghanistan 10 years after a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban, notorious for their oppressive policies against women and conservative attitude towards relationships."

Interior Ministry says 11 Taliban killed in a "countrywide operation."

A regional Taliban commander tells al Jazeera that Afghan security forces are now the priority target, over foreign forces.

Shukrullah Durani , Chief of Spinghar District, Nangarhar province escapes injury when his vehicle is attacked by a roadside bomb, but three soldiers in his entourage are injured.

Foreign Ministery Zalmai Rasoul to visit Qatar, apparently to do groundwork for discussions with the proposed Taliban liaison office in that country.

Iraq Update

Speaking of Qatar, fugitive Iraqi VP Tareq al-Hashemi has departed Kurdistan for that country, for unstated reasons. Whether this represents a new place of asylum for him or merely an opportunity for discussions is unclear. But . . .

PM al-Maliki says that the Syrian regime will not fall and criticizes Qatar and Saudi Arabia for calling for arming the opposition. I don't want to read too much into what are murky affairs, but seeing Iraq's fugitive Sunni VP heading for Qatar even as tensions rise between Iraq, and Sunni led Arab regimes over the future of Syria at least suggests a growing sectarian divide in the region. Stay tuned. -- C

Posted by Cervantes at 5:05 AM

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