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, April 29, 2014

War News for Tuesday, April 29, 2014

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from insurgent attacks in  undisclosed locations in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, April 28th.


Reported security incidents
#1: At least 49 Taliban insurgents and five soldiers were killed following a massive attack by the militants in eastern Afghan province of Paktiya, a defence ministry official of the country said on Tuesday. "More than 500 insurgents attacked army after an operation was launched in Paktiya province. 49 militants and five soldiers have been killed," Xinhua quoted Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a defense ministry spokesman, as saying in his twitter account. Six army soldiers were also wounded during the exchange of fire between the insurgents and army in the province, 100 km south of the country's capital Kabul, Azimi said.

#2: At least three police personnel were killed and one policeman injured Tuesday when Taliban militants attacked a security checkpoint in Afghanistan. "The militants raided an Afghan Local Police(ALP)checkpoint in Alingar district in eastern Afghan province of Laghman early Tuesday, leaving three ALP personnel dead and injuring one policeman," Xinhua quoted the provincial government as saying in a statement.

#3: Three militants were killed on Monday during a gun battle between the security forces and militants in the Landi Kotal tehsil of the Khyber tribal region. According to military officials, these militants also included a commander who was allegedly involved in the attack on Landi kotal Fort which had destroyed a large ammunition depot a few days back. Two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel have also been injured in the gun battle with the militants.

#4: In an unrelated incident on Monday, two employees of a local aid agency were shot dead in Kohistan district of northern Faryab province, 425 km north of Kabul, district governor Imam Yar Taqwa told Xinhua earlier on Tuesday.

Posted by whisker at 4:10 AM

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