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, October 27, 2010

News of the Day for Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Reported Security Incidents

Baghdad

Bomb at a checkpoint near the Sunni Endowment kills 2 security guards.

AP also reports a bomb hidden in a pickup truck kills the driver and injures 3 bystanders.

One civilian killed, 1 injured by a sticky bomb attached to a truck delivering gas cylinders. Could possibly be the same incident as above -- reported casualty tolls often differ.

Sahwa leader assassinated in southern Baghdad.

Kirkuk

Three restaurant workers killed by a bomb late Tuesday.

Also late Tuesday, 10 killed, including 2 police, 13 injured, in attempted robbery of a gold market.

Mosul

Two soldiers killed, 9 people injured in a bomb attack on a military patrol.

DPA also reports gunmen killed a policewoman and injured her brother.

Fallujah

Two soldiers, 1 other person injured in bomb attack on a patrol.

Baaguba

Chief of the Jalawlaa investigation department, Major Mohammad Ibrahim, and 3 of his companions are killed by a bomb attack on the highway.

Amara

A U.S. soldier, guarding a provincial reconstruction team, is injured by sniper fire.

Other News of the Day

NYT's John Leland and Khalid D. Ali discuss the tension between Anbar Province and the central government over natural gas development. This is key to Iraq's future -- will the Sunni hinterlands accept the authority of the Shiite-dominated Baghdad government, particularly over distribution of the oil and gas wealth of the country? I very much doubt it. -- C

Glenn Greenwald has a word or two for John Burns and coverage in general of the WikiLeaks Iraq document dump. I first became aware of Burns during the sectarian civil war in Iraq, which Burns insightfully claimed was entirely caused by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. This is only my personal opinion, and therefore not libelous, but I believe that John Burns is the very paradigm of an idiot. -- C

Afghanistan Update

This is apparently not related to conflict or politics, but it seems to be dominating the news from Afghanistan today so I can't ignore it. 65 people reported killed by a roof collapse at a wedding party in Baghlan Province. The main significance is that this demonstrates the prevailing poverty in Afghanistan and poor quality construction.

WaPo's Greg Miller reports that the Taliban are pretty much unscathed by the war. Yeah, they kill some senior leadership but there are plenty of young, and more determined fighters to take their places. Excerpt:

An intense military campaign aimed at crippling the Taliban has so far failed to inflict more than fleeting setbacks on the insurgency or put meaningful pressure on its leaders to seek peace, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials citing the latest assessments of the war in Afghanistan.

Escalated airstrikes and special operations raids have disrupted Taliban movements and damaged local cells. But officials said that insurgents have been adept at absorbing the blows and that they appear confident that they can outlast an American troop buildup set to subside beginning next July.

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