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 24, 2012

War News for Wednesday, October 24, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, October 23rd.


Plan for hunting terrorists signals U.S. intends to keep adding names to kill lists


Reported security incidents
#1: At least three people were killed on Wednesday, in a US drone strike in North Waziristan. Sources say a drone fired two missiles at a compound in Mir Ali Tehsil area of North Waziristan as a result of which three people were killed and a fire broke out in the compound.

#2: Nine people were killed and 25 wounded in an overnight operation launched by Afghan and the NATO-led coalition troops in the western province of Ghor, a provincial official said Wednesday, adding that local residents said most victims were civilians. "According to initial reports by our security forces, nine people were killed and 25 others injured during a night raid operation against militants conducted by Afghan Special Forces supporting by the coalition troops in Sharhrak district overnight, " a spokesman for provincial government, Abdul Hai Khatibi, told Xinhua.
 
#3: Militants in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan have destroyed a truck bound for the US-led foreign forces in neighboring Afghanistan, Press TV reports. The incident took place late Tuesday, when unknown militants opened fire at the tanker in the Kalat district. The provincial officials said the container was on its way from Pakistani port city of Karachi to Afghanistan. No casualties have been reported.

#4: Four Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldiers were injured on Tuesday in a remote-controlled bomb blast in the militancy-infested Khyber Agency, which borders Peshawar, security officials said. According to the officials, suspected militants bombed the room on a plaza's rooftop at Faqirabad Chowk where the FC personnel had taken positions. "Four FC men were injured by the remote-controlled blast," the officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

#5: Units of Afghan police have killed four Taliban militants and arrested 22 others over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Wednesday. "Afghan National Police in conjunction with the national army and the NATO-led coalition forces have launched series of cleanup operations in Kabul, Kunduz, Kandahar, Zabul, Ghazni, Khost, and Helmand provinces over the past 24 hours during which four Taliban rebels were killed, two wounded and 22 others arrested," the statement said. There were no casualties on the security forces.

#6: According to local authorities in western Farah province of Afghanistan, district chief for Parchaman was killed along with one of his bodyguard following a roadside bomb explosion. The officials further added the incident took place on Tuesday night at the central Parchaman city in this province. In the meantime provincial security chief Mohammad Ghaus Maliar said Mohammad Salim Mubariz was killed along with an Afghan police officer and two of his bodyguards were injured.

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