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, November 4, 2014

War News for Tuesday, November 4, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: Armed militants killed a tribal leader in Balochistan’s Noshki district on Monday. Levies sources said militants on a motorcycle opened fire at Sardarzada Wali Khan Mengal and killed him on the spot.

#2: Two bomb blasts killed four people on Tuesday in a restive northwestern Pakistani tribal area where the army is fighting militants, officials said. The bombs went off at Painda Cheena village in the lawless Khyber tribal district, where the army is mounting an operation against the Taliban and other militant groups. In the first bombing two paramilitary soldiers and a civilian were killed, while the second blast, at the same place, killed another civilian during rescue work.

#3: An explosion has been reported in eastern Paktia province, Gardiz city late on Monday, leaving 4 people dead and 27 others injured. Col. Zalmai Oryakhail police chief of the province reported BNA, the explosion took place, while improvised explosive device placed in a shop in-front of Azizi Bank in Gardiz city center of the province yesterday evening.

#4: At least two civilians were injured in Kunar province in the latest wave of cross-border shelling from the other side of Durand Line. According to local government officials, at least 17 rockets were fired in Dangam district late on Monday night.

#5: At least four Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were martyred in the latest spate of violence across the country. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said Tuesday that the soldiers were martyred following improvised explosive device (IED) explosion and direct enemy fire.

Posted by whisker at 4:01 AM

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