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


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

War News for Tuesday, December 03, 2013


New Taleban chief in Pakistan’s tribal areas

Kurds’ Oil Deals With Turkey Raise Fears of Fissures in Iraq


Reported security incidents
#1: A powerful blast rocked Marja district in the southern Afghan province of Helmand on Tuesday, killing two civilians and injuring 10 others, spokesman for provincial government Omar Zawak said. "The terrorists planted explosive device onto a motorbike and detonated it at 12:30 p.m. local time in a bazaar today leaving two civilians dead and injuring 10 others," Zawak told Xinhua. Meantime, an official on the condition of anonymity said that the terrorists exploded an explosive-borne motorbike by remote control to target a police van, causing no harm to police and all the victims are civilians.

#2: A roadside bomb struck a police van in Afghanistan's southern Zabul province, leaving three police dead and injuring three others on Tuesday, deputy to provincial governor Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar said.

#3: A senior Taliban leader was killed along with four other militants following a drone strike by coalition security forces in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan.

Posted by whisker at 3:50 AM

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