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, June 4, 2014

War News for Wednesday, June 04, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: Suspected Taliban fighters attacked Pakistani outposts from positions on the Afghan side of the border, killing four soldiers, Pakistani military officials said on Wednesday. One military source said four soldiers were also wounded. The assault, which took place in Pakistan's Bajaur tribal region, comes after Afghan officials said an air strike by Pakistani forces killed four civilians on Saturday.

#2: A suspected suicide bomber attacked a Pakistani security forces vehicle in Rawalpindi, home to Pakistan's army headquarters, on Wednesday, killing five people including two officers, a military source said. The attack in Rawalpindi, next to the capital, Islamabad, came days after the Pakistani Taliban split into two groups, limiting the government's chances of finding a negotiated settlement to end the insurgency.

#3: At least three civilians were killed and 12 others wounded when a bomb went off in Afghanistan Wednesday, sources said. The explosion occurred in Maimana city, the provincial capital of Faryab province, Wednesday morning.

#4: A provincial official says four Afghan police officers were killed and another one was wounded when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the country's south. Omer Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor of Helmand province, said on Wednesday that the incident occurred on Tuesday evening while the policemen were on their way back from an operation in Sangin district.

#5: Afghan security forces during cleanup operations in northern Baghlan province which begun Tuesday have killed 15 militants so far, an army officer Ghulam Farooq Ahmadi said Wednesday. "We launched cleanup campaigns in Baghlan-e-Markazi district of Baghlan province Tuesday and so far 15 rebels have been killed and 20 others injured," Ahmadi told the media. One security personnel has been killed and two others injured during the operations, he said.

#6: At least two Afghan national army soldiers were martyred following an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion. The officials did not disclose further information regarding the exact location of the incident where the two Afghan soldiers martyred.


DoD: Capt. Jason B. Jones

Posted by whisker at 4:28 AM

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