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, July 1, 2012

News of the Day for Sunday, July 1, 2012

Khwaja Ismael, head of the National Security Directorate for Herat is assassinated on his way to work. No claim of responsibility as yet.

Two civilians killed, four injured in a missile attack in Doulat Shah, eastern Laghman province. The missile was apparently fired by insurgents.

I'm not sure what this is all about,  but it's a diplomatic squabble between Iran and Afghanistan having to do with Afghan refugees in Iran. What's odd about it is that the Afghan diplomat seems to be apologizing for a crime by a refugee and calling on the Afghan consulate to take responsibility for the behavior of Afghan refugees in Iran. - C

Meanwhile, Pakistan is preparing to deport 400,000 Afghan refugees. "Pakistani officials have said that they can no longer also carry the burden of an additional 400,000 undocumented Afghans in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa."

Five killed, eleven injured when a bus strikes a roadside bomb in Ghazni. The bus was traveling from Kandahar to Kabul.

U.S. drone strike kills eight purported insurgents in North Waziristan .Pakistani intelligence officials said the target was troops of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, and that foreigners of unspecified nationality were among the dead. Note that it is clear from reports of this kind that despite their protestations, the Pakistanis are in fact approving at least some of these strikes, and quite likely providing the targeting information.

ISAF reports capturing a Haqqani leader in Wardak  and a Taliban leader in Helmand.





Posted by Cervantes at 5:21 AM

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