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


Tuesday, August 11, 2009

War News for Tuesday, August 11, 2009

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, August 10th. 3NEWS.CO.NZ is reporting that a Polish Captain was killed from small arms fire in Ghazni province Afghanistan. Four additional Polish soldiers were wounded in the attack.

The AP is reporting the death of a U.S. Marine from a hostile fire incident in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, August 10th.

The AP is reporting the death of a U.S. Marine from a hostile fire incident in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, August 9th

The AP is reporting the death of a U.S. Marine from a hostile fire incident in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, August 8th.

The DoD is reporting the death of a U.S. soldier from a non-combat related incident at Camp Phoenix, Bagram, Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 4th.

The DoD is reporting a second death of a U.S. soldier at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md, on Saturday, August 8th from a vehicle roll-over in Logar Province, Afghanistan, on Sunday, July 19th.

The DoD is reporting a third new death of a soldier in a non-combat related incident in Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, on Monday, August 10th.


Aug. 9 airpower summary:

Aug. 8 airpower summary:

Aug. 6 airpower summary:

BBC: 'Illusion' of security in Iraq:

Turkish foreign minister arrives in Baghdad:

Afghanistan hires 10,000 tribesmen to secure polls:

Iraq First Bidding Round - ‘The Greatest Race on Earth’ or was it?


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: A parked car bomb targeted civilians near a popular restaurant in al Shurta al Rabi'a neighbourhood in southwestern Baghdad at 8 p.m. Monday killing two civilians and injuring 18 others.

#2: A roadside bomb targeted civilians in Adil neighbourhood, western Baghdad, at 8.30 p.m. Monday injuring three young men.

#3: A magnetic bomb stuck to a civilian car blew up in Doura neighburhood, southern Baghdad at noon Tuesday, injuring four civilians.

#4: A parked car bomb targeted civilians in an open air vegetable market in Shaab neighbourhood, northern Baghdad injuring nine civilians.


Diyala Prv:
#1: Police forces on Tuesday found an unknown body belonging to a man in downtown Baaquba City, according to a local security source. “The body, which bore signs of gunshot wounds to the head, was found inside the old Baghdad parking garage,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: One policeman was killed by gunmen in northern Mosul on Monday, according to a security source. “Unknown armed men shot and killed a policeman while on vacation in al-Magmouaa al-Thaqafiya region, northern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: One woman was killed and a civilian was wounded by gunmen in eastern Mosul, a security source said on Monday. “Unknown gunmen stormed the 19-year-old woman’s house on Monday (Aug. 10) in Dourat al-Hamam region, eastern Mosul, killing her and injuring a civilian was with her,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Three policemen were wounded Tuesday when a roadside bomb went off at al-Saqlawiya district, north of Falluja, said a security source. “The explosive charge was planted on a side road in al-Saqlawiya, 15 km north of Falluja,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Ten persons have been killed in US missile attack in South Waziristan. According to sources, US drone fired missile at militants in Kani Karam area killing ten persons. Several reportedly wounded in the attack.

#2: Separately, airstrikes and clashes with Afghan and Western forces in an area on the border of Ghazni and Zabul provinces in southern Afghanistan killed 12 insurgents, said Wazir Khan, a local official. The militants were killed late Monday inside a compound, Khan said. Authorities have recovered the militants' bodies and ammunition. There were no casualties among Afghan or coalition forces, he said.

#3: Also in Zabul, a roadside bomb killed two Afghan soldiers and wounded three others, said Lt. Gen. Sher Mohammad Zazai, the army commander for southern Afghanistan.

#4: The Defence Ministry in Kabul said the convoy was on a patrol in a remote area of Ghazni when it came under attack. It said three Afghan soldiers were killed and six wounded. Abdul Rahman, a senior police officer in Ghazni, said as many as eight Afghan soldiers were killed. He said the convoy was travelling to talk to villagers in Ajrestan district about the election when they came under attack.

#5: At least a dozen rockets slammed into Pakistan's main northwest city before dawn Tuesday, killing two civilians. The rocket attacks on a residential area of Peshawar sent panicked residents running from their homes shortly after 1 a.m., police official Nisar Khan said. At least two civilians were killed and 10 others wounded.

#6: Hours later, a group of militants attacked a paramilitary Frontier Corps base in Basai, outside Peshawar, the military said in a statement. It said three militants were killed in the gunbattle, but gave no casualty figures for the paramilitary.

#7: Eight militants were killed when two rival groups fought over the control of a checkpost in Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun Orakzai tribal region, a government official said on Tuesday.

#8: Troops repulsed a militant attack on a security checkpost in the Khyber tribal region on Tuesday, killing three militants, a paramilitary Frontier Corps spokesman said.

#9: Afghan army and police during a joint operation against Taliban in the southern Zabul province eliminated a dozen insurgents, senior military commander in the region said Tuesday. "Troops from National Army in conjunction with police forces raided militants hideouts in Shamanzai district Tuesday morning, and killed 12 rebels and injured several others," Shir Mohammad Zazi told Xinhua. He also said there were no casualties on the security forces.



news: Captain Daniel Ambrozinski

DoD: Staff Sgt. Tara J. Smith

DoD: Spc. Matthew K.S. Swanson

DoD: Sgt. Jerry R. Evans Jr.

DoD: Lance Cpl. Dennis J. Burrow

DoD: Lance Cpl. Javier Olvera

DoD: Lance Cpl. Patrick W. Schimmel

DoD: Spc. Richard A. Walters Jr

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