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


Wednesday, April 2, 2014

War News for Wednesday, April 02, 2014

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-combat related injury in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, April 1st.


British Armed Forces complete handover of Helmand Province


Reported security incidents
#1: A suicide bomber wearing a military uniform struck the entrance gate of the Interior Ministry compound Wednesday in the heart of the Afghan capital, officials said, the latest in a wave of violence to rock Kabul as the Taliban threaten to disrupt this weekend's elections. The Interior Ministry, which oversees Afghan police, said the blast wounded a number of police officers. It did not elaborate.

#2: Earlier Wednesday, an Afghan official said Taliban gunmen killed nine people, including a candidate running for a seat in the provincial council, who had been abducted in northern Afghanistan. The governor of Sar-i-Pul province, Abdul Jabar Haqbeen, said authorities received word that the candidate, Hussain Nazari, and the others were killed overnight by their abductors. They were seized by the Taliban three days ago while traveling to the provincial capital.

#3: At least two people were killed and 13 injured Wednesday in a powerful explosion near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, police said. The blast ripped through a private bank in the Vash Mandi area on the Afghan side of the border, Dawn online reported.

#4: At least three people were killed while two others were injured when identified men opened fire at a car in Satellite Town of Quetta, a private news channel reported. According to the report, armed men riding a motorcycle opened fire at a car and killed three people onboard.

#5: At least 32 Taliban militants were killed or injured during coordinated military operations by Afghan national security forces in the past 24 hours. The operations were conducted by Afghan national police (ANP) in cooperation with the Afghan national army (ANA) and Afghan intelligence – national directorate of security (NDS) operatives.

Posted by whisker at 4:36 AM

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