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, June 6, 2009

War News for Saturday, June 06, 2009

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by the military. Spc. Jarrett P. Griemel died from a non-combat related incident at Forward Operating Base Gardez, Paktia Province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, June 3rd.


Syrian rail shipments head to Iraq:

France to send attack choppers to Afghanistan:

Six PKK rebels killed in Turkey :


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: A civilian was killed and two others were inured by a roadside bomb in northeast Baghdad around 12 p.m.


Diyala Prv:
Jalawaa:
#1: The body of a policeman was found in a village of the district of Jalawlaa on Friday, a security source in Diala said, adding he had been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen on Thursday evening. “The body, found in the village of Bunera, Jalwalaa, (30 km) southwest of Khanaqin, which showed signs of having been tortured and shot, was removed to a morgue in the district,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Baquba:
#1: Two civilians were killed and two others injured by a roadside bomb in Sadiyah area northeast of Baquba city


Rashad:
#1: A roadside bomb on Saturday went off targeting an Iraqi army patrol in al-Rashad district, southwest of Kirkuk city, without causing any casualties, said a source from the police. “The incident took place in Sabaa-Nissan village of al-Rashad district, 35 km southwest of Kirkuk,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Hawija:
#1: Four people including three members of Sahwa council leader and a civilian were inured by a roadside bomb that targeted the convoy of Hawija Sahwa leader Colonel Khalaf Ibraheem. The explosion happened inside Hawija city west of Kirkuk on Friday evening.


Kirkuk:
#1: (area of) http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=114207
on Saturday kidnapped a truck driver on the highway between Toz Khirmato and Sleman Bik, southern Kirkuk, said a security source from the province. “The incident took place before today’s noon,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.“The truck was left at the abduction location,” he said.


Al Anbar Prv:
Fallujah:
#1: One policeman on Saturday was killed and four others were wounded in an explosive charge blast in Falluja city, according to a local police source. “An improvised explosive device (IED) targeted an Iraqi police patrol vehicle in al-Karma district, eastern Falluja, killing one cop and injuring four others,” Captain Mohammed Talab from al-Karma police told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Three policemen on Saturday were injured when unknown gunmen attacked a checkpoint in Falluja city, according to a police source. “The attack occurred in Karmat al-Falluja district, eastern Falluja,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.The wounded were taken to the Falluja Hospital for treatment, the source noted.

A roadside bomb killed three members of a state-backed Sunni Arab militia on Friday in Karmah, 20 km (12 miles) northeast of Falluja, police said.

Three people including a brother of supporting council leader were killed by a roadside bomb that targeted their vehicle in northeast Fallujah on Friday night.

Ramadi:
#1: The police chief in Anbar province was wounded in a car bomb blast that occurred in downtown Ramadi city, a local security source said on Saturday. “On Saturday, a car rigged with explosives targeted the motorcade of Anbar’s police commander, Maj. Gen. Tareq Youssuf, wounding him, along with a number of patrolmen,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The source did not reveal the number of casualties, but said that a security cordon was thrown around the area.

#2: A bomb attached to a vehicle killed a police captain in Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A suspected suicide bomber killed three civilians and wounded eight others Saturday in a southern Afghan town. The blast took place in Spin Boldak district in southern Kandahar province, near the Pakistani border Saturday morning when a man was trying to park an explosive-filled motorbike near a hotel in the main market of district, police spokesman Jawad Ahmad said, citing witnesses. "It was not clear if the man was a suicide bomber, or he was only using it as a roadside bomb," he said, adding that the blast killed the suspected bomber and three civilians. Eight others including five children, two women and a man were wounded in the blast and were taken to a hospital in the district.

#2: The army also killed eight suspected militants including an Arab fighter in Sabari district of Khost province on Friday, the Defence Ministry said in a statement issued Saturday.

#3: One more militant was killed and two others were wounded in a separate clash in the neighbouring province of Paktika on late Friday, it said.

#4: The ministry statement also said that another army soldier was killed and 15 others were wounded by separate roadside bombs in the past two days.

#5: Meanwhile, two security personnel guarding a United Nations office in northern Kunduz province were wounded overnight, when a group of suspected militants attacked the building in Say-Darak area of the provincial capital, governor's spokesman Mohammad Omar said. The militants targeted the building of UN Food and Agriculture Organization with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire, he said, adding that the attackers fled the area when the a police unit was deployed to the area.

#6: Militants ambushed a military convoy carrying prisoners in Pakistan's volatile northwest on Saturday, killing two detained aides of a senior Islamist cleric from the Swat Valley, the army said. A roadside bomb and gunfire hit the convoy as it traveled from Sakhakot town near Swat to the main northwestern city of Peshawar early Saturday, an army statement said. One soldier also died in the attack and five were wounded, it said. The army identified the prisoners as Muhammad Maulana Alam and Ameer Izzat Khan, top aides to hard-line cleric Sufi Muhammad who negotiated a peace deal with the government that was widely seen as allowing the Taliban to seize control of the Swat Valley.

#7: Roadside mines planted by insurgents struck a vehicle of ANA in Dumanda district of Khost province Saturday morning, killing one ANA soldier and wounding another, a senior ANA officer, Gen. Mohammad Hisrar told Xinhua.

#8: In the second incident, roadside bomb planted by militants hit a vehicle of Afghan border police in Dand-e-Patan district of Paktia province wounding five policemen, provincial administration spokesman Rohullah Samon told Xinhua.

#9: Moreover, another bombing against international troops in Zurmat district of Paktia damaged one of their vehicles but caused no causalities on foreign soldiers, Samon added. However, Taliban's purported spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid in talks with media from undisclosed location claimed responsibility for roadside bombing in Zurmat, adding that one vehicle of U.S.-led Coalition troops was destroyed and all soldier aboard were killed.

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