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, September 1, 2012

War News for Saturday, September 01, 2012




NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack somewhere in Ghazni province, Afghanistan on Saturday, September 1st.


Reported security incidents
#1: At least four people were killed and two others injured on Saturday morning when a U.S. drone launched attacks in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region of North Waziristan, local media reported. According to local Urdu TV channel Geo News, the U.S. pilotless plane attacked a suspected house in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, Pakistan's restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan. The drone fired four missiles at the house located in the Daigan village of Datta Khel area, local media quoted intelligence sources as saying.

#2: two suicide bombings rocked Sayidabad district in Wardak province with Maidan Shar its capital 30 km west of Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday, leaving 14 people including two attackers dead and injuring 69 others. The bloody attacks took place at 06:15 a.m. local time near the gate of the district headquarters and next to the police department, damaging several shops and houses around, the Wardak provincial administration said in a statement released to media outlets. "Eight civilians and four policemen were martyred in the double suicide bombings," the statement added. Those received injuries in the deadly bombings include 47 civilians, seven police personnel, three personnel of intelligence agency and two soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), according to the statement. Taliban militants, according to eye witnesses, first detonated one of the suicide bombers and when the people gathered to rescue the victims, the second blast happened adding to the number of casualties.

Posted by whisker at 5:00 AM

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