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


Friday, May 22, 2009

War News for Friday, May 22, 2009

May 19 airpower summary:

China faces unexpected problem drilling for oil in Iraq:

6 Belgian troops in Afghanistan sent home over pot:

Iraq Bombings Shatter Lull:

6,261 soldiers and police killed in Sri Lankan offensive availableRead more:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: A mortar round fell on Abu Nawas river bank at 10 a.m. Friday causing no casualties. It was targeting the Green Zone (across the river) and fell short, said Iraqi Police.

#2: A mortar round fell on al Ghadeer neighbourhood at 6 p.m. Thursday injuring two civilians and causing material damages to one home.

#3: A roadside bomb targeted a U.S. military convoy in Talbiyah neighbourhood, northeast Baghdad at 10 p.m. Thursday. No casualties were reported.


Mosul:
#1: Three persons were wounded on Thursday when gunmen threw a hand grenade at an Iraqi army vehicle patrol in northern Mosul, a police source said. “Unknown gunmen on Thursday (May 21) threw a hand grenade on an Iraqi army vehicle patrol in al-Majmouaa al-Thaqafiya region in northern Mosul, injuring three people, including two soldiers,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. A cameraman from al-Mosuliya channel told Aswat al-Iraq news agency that Iraqi soldiers beat him while covering the armed attack on them, noting that they confiscated his camera.

#2: Three civilians were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off in central Mosul city on Thursday, a Ninewa police source said. “The IED rocked the area of Bab al-Bayd, central Mosul, but did not target a certain security facility. Three civilians were wounded in the explosion,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Unidentified gunmen killed a woman and her daughter and wounded the latter’s husband inside their house in eastern Mosul city on Thursday, a police source from Ninewa said. “The gunmen attacked a house in the area of al-Quds neighborhood, eastern Mosul, killing a woman and her daughter and wounding the daughter’s husband while the children managed to escape,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#4: A policeman was killed and six others were wounded in a bomb explosion late Thursday in central Mosul, a police source said Friday. “A policeman was killed and six more were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off targeting their vehicle patrol in Bab al-Jadeed region in central Mosul late Thursday (May 21),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#5: A woman was injured on Friday in a roadside bomb explosion in western Mosul city, a police source said. “An explosive device went off on Friday (May 22) targeting a police vehicle patrol in al-Refaaei neighborhood in western Mosul, injuring a passing woman and damaging one of the patrol’s vehicles,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) helicopter experienced mechanical problems and as a result made an emergency landing on 22 May, near Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan Province, southern Afghanistan. ISAF has secured the scene, and a recovery operation is currently underway. The emergency landing was not caused by insurgent action.

#2: Afghan and U.S. forces killed one militant and arrested three others early on Friday in the Nawa district of southern Helmand province, the U.S. military said.

#3: An Afghan army commando was killed and another soldier wounded on Thursday when their patrol was ambushed in Chak district of Wardak province, which borders Kabul.

#4: Seven militants were killed and one detained in a firefight in Gelan district of Ghazni province, which lies southwest of Kabul, during an operation to cut the flow of weapons and fighters into eastern Afghanistan, U.S. forces said.


It's a slow day for reported war news. I sincerely hope this continues at least throughout the weekend, however I will update this post later today if needed. -- whisker

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