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


Saturday, March 5, 2016

Update for Saturday, March 5, 2016

Well, so much for that. (At least for now.) Taliban say they will not participate in peace talks that were to be brokered by Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the U.S.

We . . .  unequivocally state that the leader of Islamic Emirate has not authorized anyone to participate in this meeting. (Islamic Emirate) once again reiterates that unless the occupation of Afghanistan is ended, black lists eliminated and innocent prisoners freed, such futile misleading negotiations will not bear any results.
Heavy fighting in various parts of Helmand with numerous casualties on both sides.

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction describes various ways U.S. taxpayer dollars were squandered. The U.S. has now spent more on Afghan reconstruction than it did on rebuilding Europe after W.W. II, with, shall we say, somewhat less impressive results. Example:

The Pentagon spent close to half a billion dollars on 20 Italian-made cargo planes that it eventually scrapped and sold for just $32,000, according to SIGAR. "These planes were the wrong planes for Afghanistan," Sopko told NBC News. "The U.S. had difficulty getting the Afghans to fly them, and our pilots called them deathtraps. One pilot said parts started falling off while he was coming into land."

Posted by Cervantes at 6:06 AM

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