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


Sunday, October 29, 2017

Update for Sunday, October 29, 2017

A U.S. military service member is killed, 6 injured in a helicopter crash in Logar. NATO command says enemy action was not involve. Local sources say the helicopter hit a tree.

Thirteen Afghan police are killed in attacks on checkpoints in Kunduz.

Nine police and 12 Taliban killed in fighting in Ghazni.

Deputy governor of Kunar province, Mohammad Nabi, in Pakistan for medical treatment, is allegedly abducted. He is reportedly an activist in Hezb-e-Islami, presumably the Khalis faction since the organization founded by Gulbuddin Hekmyatar is considered a terrorist organization, whereas the non-violent faction is a registered political party in Afghanistan.

Fighting in Zabul kills 6 police and 8 militants.

Taliban said to burn hundreds of houses in villages in Sar-e-Pul. The motive is not explained but presumably the locals have opposed them.

U.S. state department officials say Taliban still have safe haven in Pakistan.

Posted by Cervantes at 5:31 AM

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