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, October 26, 2013

War News for Saturday, October 26, 2013


Report: 14 Iranian border guards killed in clashes


Reported security incidents
#1: A gunfight broke out between Afghan and foreign soldiers on the outskirts of the capital Kabul on Saturday, killing at least one Afghan serviceman and injuring a number of other soldiers, according to Afghan and NATO officials. "There was an argument between an Afghan and foreign soldier inside a military base... where they opened fire on each other. An investigation is ongoing," defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said.

A New Zealand soldier has suffered a foot wound after an attack in Afghanistan. The Defence Force said the soldier was attacked by a member of the Afghan National Security Forces as he and Australian soldiers left a meeting at an Afghan National Army facility in Kabul at 5.40pm today New Zealand time.

#2: A car bomb hit a paramilitary van escorting a bus of Shiite Muslim pilgrims in southwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing two soldiers, officials said. The incident took place in Dringhar area, on the main Quetta-Taftan Highway in Mastung district, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) southwest of Quetta, the capital of insurgency-hit Baluchistan province

#3: Thirty-six Taliban militants were killed in collaborated operations in different Afghan provinces since early Friday, said the country's Interior Ministry Saturday. "Afghan police, army, National Directorate for Security (NDS) and the NATO-led ISAF coalition forces conducted several joint clearance operations in Nangarhar, Parwan, Zabul, Uruzgan, Wardak and Ghazni provinces over the past 24 hours. As a result 36 armed Taliban were killed, five wounded and three others were arrested," the ministry said in a statement providing daily operational updates.

#4: Three Afghan policemen were wounded Saturday morning in a bomb explosion in the country's western province of Farah, according to a source.

#5: Explosion and gun battle has been reported in eastern Ghaznni province of Afghanistan. The blast has reportedly taken place near the provincial government compound.

Posted by whisker at 7:37 AM

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