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


Monday, June 13, 2016

Update for Monday, June 13, 2016

An Iraqi government spokesman acknowledges that Shiite militias have committed crimes against civilians in the battle for Fallujah and says that arrests have been made. This follows a claim by Anbar governor Suhaib al-Rawi that militias had executed 49 men and that hundreds had gone missing over the three days from June 3 through 5; and that detainees were tortured.

Government forces screening people fleeing Fallujah claim to have found more than 500 IS fighters trying to blend in with the refugees. If this is true, it suggests that the IS fighting force in Fallujah may be collapsing. Nevertheless, the fight remains a heavy slog against booby traps and suicide bombers.

Nevertheless the government continues to claim victories, such as the destruction of an IS communications facility, and the conquest of a village west of Fallujah.

Some 4,000 people have fled through the safe corridor recently opened by Iraqi forces. 

Here is a photo essay on the exodus.

Government forces also continue to advance toward Mosul.



Posted by Cervantes at 9:47 AM

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