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, June 11, 2008

War News for Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by CENTCOM. Pfc. Thomas F. Duncan, III died during combat operations in Sinjar, Iraq on Monday, June 9th. No other details were released.

MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Corps – Iraq soldier in from non-battle related causes in Baghdad on Wednesday, June 11th. No other details were released.


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: A roadside bomb has exploded in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, killing at least five people, police say. The blast struck two minibuses in the mainly Shia Kadhimiyah district in north-west Baghdad. A woman and seven-year-old boy were among the dead minibus passengers and at least 10 other people were wounded, police said.

A roadside bomb went off near the textile factory in the Kadimiyah neighborhood in northern Baghdad, killing five people and wounding ten others, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Most of the victims were passengers in a passing minibus, the source said.

#2: At least one civilian died in another explosion in south-west Baghdad, Iraqi police said. In the south-west Karrada area, the fatality occurred when mortar rounds hit a busy street. Five people were wounded, police said.

Another roadside bomb exploded close to a police patrol near the Mission commercial compound in the Mu'asker al-Rasheed thoroughfare in southern Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding seven others. The blast apparently missed its target, striking nearby civilian cars and shops, the source said.

#3: Few minutes later, another bomb was detonated near a gas station in Baghdad's Benook district, injuring two civilians.

A third roadside bomb went off in Baghdad's northeastern neighborhood of Bunoug, wounding two people, he said

#4: In the capital's Shiite-dominated Kazimiyah district, a bomb went off on a bus injuring four passengers, police sources told VOI.

#5: A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol at Al-Mission complex in Karrada neighborhood (east Baghdad). One police was killed and seven others were injured.


Diyala Prv:
#1: Unidentified gunmen on Wednesday blew up an Iraqi army officer's house in west of Khaniqeen, Diala province, a senior official said. Unknown gunmen detonated the house in al-Saadiya district, west of Khaniqeen, by planting a bomb inside it," Ahmad Zarkoushi, the mayor of the district, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq. The explosion destroyed the house and damaged the nearby houses," he added, noting that the blast left no casualties.

Bahraz:
#1: A joint force of U.S. and Iraqi personnel killed two al-Qaeda gunmen and arrested 16 more during a security operation waged south of Baaquba, a security source said on Wednesday. "Joint U.S.-Iraqi forces launched a military operation late Tuesday targeting al-Qaeda group in Bahraz district, south of Baaquba, where they killed two gunmen and arrested 16 others," the source, who asked not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq.


Kut:
#1: A policeman was killed and four were injured on Wednesday when an improvised explosive device went off near a police vehicle patrol in central Kut, said a police source.


Kirkuk:
#1: Four policemen and a civilian were wounded on Wednesday in a roadside bomb explosion in western Kirkuk, said a police source."An explosive charge went off targeting a police vehicle patrol in Sahet al-Tayaran in western Kirkuk, wounding four policemen and a passing civilian," the source told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq on condition of anonymity.

A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol at Al-Tayran square in Kirkuk city. 6 people were injured

#2: The social and religious committee in Kirkuk city council buried 4 unidentified dead bodies including one for a woman.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Police said they found the bodies of five men, shot and tortured, near Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad.



Afghanistan:
#1: Pakistan said on Wednesday an "unprovoked and cowardly" air strike by U.S. forces had killed 11 Pakistani soldiers on its border with Afghanistan and undermined the basis of security cooperation. The soldiers were killed at a border post in the Mohmand region, opposite Afghanistan's Kunar province, late on Tuesday as U.S. coalition forces in Afghanistan battled militants attacking from Pakistan, a Pakistani security official said.

#2: MILITANTS in Pakistan executed a woman after accusing her of being a spy for the United States and a prostitute, and said others would face the same fate, a government official and villagers said today. It was the first time that a woman had been killed in northwest Pakistan after being accused of spying although militants have killed many men they accused of helping US forces in neighbouring Afghanistan. The body of the unidentified woman was found dumped beside a road near the town of Khar in the Bajaur region on the Afghan border, a hotbed of support for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. A note was found with the body, a government official said.

#3: Officials says 31 people died in airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan.Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary says most of the 31 people were foreign fighters. But Khalid Farooqi, a lawmaker from Paktika, says at least nine civilians were killed. The U.S.-led coalition says four civilians were killed and that several militants died in the clashes in northern Paktika province early Wednesday. Twelve militants were detained.Farooqi says the operation apparently targeted militant commander Mullah Mohammad Nabi and fighters who served under him.


Casualty Reports:

Spc. 4 Kenneth E. Harker, 23, a member of the U.S. Army's 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, based in Fort Polk, La. left leg has been amputated below the knee, his broken right leg is in a cast, and he sustained shrapnel wounds in his left arm, facial cuts and a broken nose. The blast killed one of the three soldiers in the Humvee and also injured the driver, he said. he was injured, the result of the Humvee accident in which he was a turret gunner in hitting a roadside bomb while on patrol in the area of Sadr City in Baghdad.

John James, an infantry officer, suffered a wound to his hand. He is recovering from minor injuries suffered in an attack in Afghanistan on May 30, officials with the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs said. A military source said the men were in a Humvee that was hit by a makeshift bomb constructed by insurgents. The officers are part of a team of 16 New Jersey National Guard troops.

L/Cpl Martyn Compton, of Kent, suffered third degree burns to 70% of his body, losing his ears and nose, and was shot in the leg in a bomb attack in 2006.

Sapper Martin Little, 21, from 9 (Para) Squadron Royal Engineers was injured when a lone militant detonated an explosive (suicide) device as a foot patrol was returning to base in the Upper Sangin Valley in the volatile Helmand province. The blast fatally injured three others. Sapper Little, from Chipping, near Garstang, is now being treated at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham and is expected to make a good recovery. Sapper Little, originally from Preston but whose family now live in Chipping, is believed to have suffered wounds to one of his arms and his right leg as he turned away from the blast.

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