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


Saturday, September 7, 2013

War News for Saturday, September 07, 2013


Reported security incidents
#1: Unidentified gunmen fired more than two-dozen rockets in a Pakistan Army cantonment and nearby checkposts. According to sources, the long-range rockets were fired on Sui cantonment and nearby checkposts as the army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch were visiting the area.

#2: Two civilians lost their lives as a roadside bomb struck a civilian car in Alishing district of the eastern Laghman province Friday morning, local government said in a statement. "A mine planted by Taliban militants on a road in Alishing district struck a civilian car at around 10:00 a.m. local time killing two commuters on the spot and injuring two others," the statement sent to media outlets confirmed.

#3: Furthermore, operation against Taliban militants in the northeast Badakhshan province left four Taliban fighters dead and injured six others including three Afghan soldiers, local officials asserted. "Afghan forces raided Taliban hideouts in Ragistan and Zibak districts in Badakhshan province on Friday morning during which four rebels including a Taliban commander named Mullah Abdul Rahman were killed," spokesman for Badakhshan provincial government , Abdul Marouf Rasikh told Xinhua. He also added that six others including three militants were injured during the clash which lasted for a while.
.#4: Daulat Mohammad the governor of Wardoj district of Badakhshan province admitted that a mine planted by militants struck a military vehicle injuring three Afghan soldiers. However, the Taliban outfit which has been fighting the government confirmed the skirmishes in both Badakhshan in Laghman provinces and in statement posted on the outfit's website claiming inflicting casualties on Afghan forces, a claim rejected by local officials as groundless.

#5: One person was killed and three others injured Saturday morning when angry protesters raided the Iranian consulate in Herat city, the provincial capital of western Afghan province of Herat, the police said.

#6: Afghan security forces killed nearly three dozens of Taliban militants over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Saturday. "Units of the national police backed by the national army and the NATO-led coalition forces have killed 35 armed Taliban rebels across the country over the past 24 hours," the statement asserted.


DoD: Staff Sgt. Todd J. Lobraico Jr.

Posted by whisker at 5:02 AM

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