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


Friday, May 9, 2014

War News for Friday, May 09, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan police say the Taliban have staged a large-scale attack involving more than 100 fighters on a remote police checkpoint in western Afghanistan that wounded 11 police officers. Dilghan Khakrezwal, the deputy police chief in Farah province, says the Taliban attacked the outpost in Bala Boluk district.

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