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, September 5, 2009

War News for Saturday, September 05, 2009

Photo: AP Julie Jacobson: (click for larger view) Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard is tended to by fellow U.S. Marines on Aug. 14 after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade during a firefight against the Taliban in the village of Dahaneh in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Bernard was transported by helicopter to Camp Leatherneck where he later died of his wounds.


The Mangalorean press is reporting the death of a Polish ISAF soldier in a roadside bombing about three kilometers from the military base in Giro, Ghazni province, Afghanistan on Friday, September 4th. Five additional soldiers were wounded in the attack.


Taliban's Tank-Killing Bombs Came from U.S., Not Iran:

AP picture of wounded Marine sparks debate: (see photo above)

Ex-soldier gets 5 life sentences Iraqi deaths:

Two new oil fields found in Kurdistan:

4 charged for illegal recruitment of Pinoys to Afghanistan:

Iraq sends extra police to Syrian border:


Reported Security incidents:

Diyala Prv:
#1: A Diala local council member said security forces on Friday found the body of his son north of Baaquba city three days after he had been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen. “Iraqi security forces found the body of my son, Qutayba, dumped in al-Khalis district, (15 km) north of Baaquba, three days after he had been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in al-Muqdadiya,” Nejm al-Harbi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A civilian man was killed when an improvised explosive device went off west of Baaquba on Saturday, a police source in Diala said. “The IED went off near a taxi cab off al-Rahma hospital in al-Katoun area, (2 km) west of Baaquba, leaving the driver killed instantly,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Three persons suspected of involvement in the explosion were arrested,” the source added.

#3: Unidentified gunmen kidnapped two civilians in the district of al-Saadiya, Khanaqin, on Saturday, according to a security source in Diala province. “An armed group on Saturday (Sept. 5) kidnapped two civilians in the area of Imam Weis, Saadiya, (35 km) south of Khanaqin, without any apparent reasons,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. Khanaqin, 155 km northeast of Baaquba, is one of the disputed areas between the central government in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).


Mosul:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Mamoun neighbourhood, western Mosul, Friday evening, injuring three policemen and three civilians.

#2: A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Thawra neighbourhood, western Mosul, injuring one policeman and one civilian.

#3: A car bomb blast targeted a U.S. patrol northwest of Mosul city on Saturday, a security source in Ninewa said. “A car bomb went off near a U.S. forces’ patrol in the village of Tal Sameer, Rubaiaa district, northwest of Mosul, but left no civilian casualties,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The patrol belonged to a U.S. reconstruction team,” the source added. Aswat al-Iraq failed to contact the U.S. side for comments.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A day after German armed forces in Afghanistan blew up two hijacked fuel tankers killing between 50 and 90 Afghanis, four German soldiers have been injured by a suicide bomber in the same area. The German government confirmed its forces had ordered the Nato air strike on the two fuel tankers on Friday, after they had been taken by local insurgents and the drivers reportedly decapitated. On Saturday morning four German soldiers were injured in the same area after a suicide bomber blew himself in a car. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, while its spokesman Sabuillah Mudschahid seemed to make a connection between Friday’s tanker attack and Saturday’s car bomb, saying the attacker came from Char Darah.

#2: Pakistani troops killed 37 suspected militants and destroyed one of their bases in an ongoing operation in the northwestern Khyber tribal region, authorities said Saturday.

#3: At least five militants were arrested and one killed during the ongoing search and clearance operations in northwest Pakistan in the last 24 hours, an army statement said Saturday. Pakistani security forces continued operations in Swat and Malakand in North West Frontier Province. A suicide bomber of 12 years old along with his father who is a local school teacher voluntarily surrendered to security forces at Kuzshaur, according to the Inter Services Public Relations.


MoD: Private Gavin Elliott

MoD: Private Gavin Elliott

DoD: Staff Sgt. Todd W. Selge

DoD: Spc. Jordan M. Shay

D0D: Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin P. Castiglione

Posted by whisker at 4:15 AM

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