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, March 9, 2014

News of the Day for Sunday, March 9, 2014

Seven civilians are killed and 8 injured in an IED explosion in Musa Qala, Helmand province. AP also reports 2 civilians killed in a bombing in Kajaki district, and a police officer killed in an attack on a checkpoint in the same area.

Vice President Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim dies at age 56.

Four Afghan soldiers and 2 police officers killed while trying to defuse a bomb in Laghman province  on Saturday.

Taliban kill 3 teachers and abduct 1 in Ghor province. They were returning from a seminar in the provincial capital.

Canadian forces are packing up to leave Afghanistan. Canada at one time had 2,000 troops in the country, including artillery, armored forces, and helicopters. The country's remaining 100 will leave next week. The contingent will vacation in Cyprus before returning home. In 13 years, 158 Canadian soldiers died in Afghanistan.






Posted by Cervantes at 5:23 AM

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