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


Thursday, October 8, 2009

War News for Thursday, October 08, 2009

Oct. 4 airpower summary:

Afghan War Debate Now Leans to Focus on Al Qaeda


Reported Security incidents:

Diyala Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb struck a police patrol northeast of the Iraqi capital, killing three officers, a police official said Thursday. The bomb targeted the patrol late Wednesday on the outskirts of the town of Jalula in the Diyala province, according to Maj. Ghalib al-Kharki, a police spokesman. Among the dead was a police colonel, he said. Four officers were wounded in the blast.


Hawija:
#1: Joint security forces in Kirkuk found two explosive devices in Huweija district, southwest of Kirkuk, an informed source said on Wednesday. “At 02:45 p.m. today, Huweija police personnel and the Multi-National Force (MNF) found an explosive charge near al-Ajyal School, Huweija district (65 km southwest of Kirkuk),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “At 03:00 p.m., Sahwa forces found another explosive device near Waqood al-Sakhr gas station,” the source noted. The first device was safely detonated, while the second was dismantled and handed over to army forces, the source added.


Mosul:
#1: One civilian on Wednesday was killed and four members of his family were injured when a sticky bomb went off in northern Mosul city, according to a local security source. “On Wednesday evening, a sticky improvised explosive device (IED) killed a civilian and wounded four members of his family in the predominantly Christian district of Talkeef, northern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Three people were injured by a roadside bomb in Ghizlani area in south Mosul on Wednesday afternoon.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A suicide car bomb attack near the Indian Embassy killed at least 12 people and wounded 60 others on Thursday, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying an Afghan national in a sports-utility vehicle carried out the attack. Indian officials said the bomber had intended to strike the embassy. Of the 12 killed, all but one were civilians, the Interior Ministry said. The 12th victim was an Afghan police officer. The blast damaged a security checkpoint outside the the embassy, said staffer J.P. Singh, but "there were no casualties on the Indian side."

A Finnish civilian crisis management expert was wounded on Thursday morning in a car bomb explosion in the Afghan capital, Kabul. The Finn, who is in Kabul on a police training programme, sustained light wounds to the palms of his hands. The patient is being treated in hospital.

#2: Pakistan's military on Thursday claimed killing 17 militants in the north-western Swat valley. Troops inflicted the casualties on insurgents during search operations conducted across Swat, a statement issued by the army said. Thirteen suspected rebels were taken into custody, whereas seven more surrendered themselves to the security forces, according to the statement.

#3: Airstrikes against Taliban militants left 10 insurgents dead in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province Wednesday night, a statement of U.S.-led Coalition press office in southeastern religion issued here said on Thursday. Armed militants attacked a coalition military convoy in Gomal district Wednesday night and forces called on war plane killing 10armed militants on the spot, the statement added.

#4: The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has started pounding Taliban hideouts in the northwest Waziristan ahead of the military's ground operation in the area.Pakistan Army spokesperson General Athar Abbas said the region has been cordoned-off, as the PAF has launched air strikes on Taliban locations."We have sealed the area and are involved in aerial targeting of Taliban locations," Major Abbas said, but he refused to disclose when the troops would actually start the ground operations.

#5: NATO-led troops and Afghan forces killed several militants and an Afghan child overnight during a joint operation against a Taliban commander in Logar province south of Kabul, the NATO-led force said.


DoD: Maj. Tad T. Hervas

DoD: Staff Sgt. Vernon W. Martin

DoD: Sgt. Justin T. Gallegos

DoD: Sgt. Joshua M. Hardt

DoD: Sgt. Joshua J. Kirk

DoD: Sgt. Michael P. Scusa

DoD: Spc. Christopher T. Griffin

DoD: Spc. Stephan L. Mace

DoD: Pfc. Kevin C. Thomson

DoD: Spc. Kevin O. Hill

Posted by whisker at 4:24 AM

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