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, October 20, 2009

War News for Tuesday, October 20, 2009

MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - North soldier in a roadside bombing in Ninawa province on Monday, October 19th. Two additional soldiers were wounded in the blast.


Oct. 14 airpower summary:

Oct.15 airpower summary:

Runner-up in Afghan election seeks interim gov't:

The Last F-15A Goes To The Bone Yard:

‘You Have Atomic Bombs, but We Have Suicide Bombers.’

The Deceit of Depleted Uranium Use in Afghanistan: Part 2 – The Vital Evidence

Photos of Civilians Injured by US/NATO Forces in Afghanistan:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: A car bomb in western Iraq killed four people on Tuesday while an explosion on a bus in northwestern Baghdad killed one person, police said.

#2: Minutes later, a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol in western Baghdad wounded three civilians, a local policeman said. The policeman and the two officers all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information to media.

#3: A civilian was killed and eight others were wounded when a bomb detonated inside a bus in Shaab neighborhood in north Baghdad aroud 3 p.m. Monday.

#4: Three people including a policeman were injured by a roadside bomb that targeted a police patrol in Maisaloon intersection inKarrada neighborhood around 8 p.m. Monday.

#5: A roadside bomb injured two civilians in northern Baghdad, police said.

#6: A bomb attached to a minibus wounded three civilians in northern Baghdad, police said.

#7: A roadside bomb wounded three people in eastern Baghdad, police said.


Mussayab:
#1: One officer was killed and three policemen were wounded Tuesday when an explosive charge went off targeting their vehicle patrol in northwest of Hilla, a police source said. “A local-made bomb went off on Tuesday (Oct. 20) targeting a police vehicle patrol in al-Hamiya region, al-Mussayab district, northwest of Hilla, killing an officer and injuring three policemen,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Basra:
#1: Police forces seized in Basra on Tuesday three Katyusha rockets and six launching pads ready to launch on the province’s two factories of gas and petrochemicals. “The forces launched security raids at the al-Rafdhiya area, 60 km west of Basra, relying on intelligence tip off,” a security source from the province told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: Iraqi army forces killed a gunman after clashing with him in western Mosul on Monday, a police source said.“An army force killed the gunmen, with whom it clashed with at al-Islah al-Zeraie neighborhood, western Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.“The force killed the gunman after opening fire on a soldier and wounding him,” he explained.He did not add further details.

#2: Police forces found on Tuesday two unknown corpses in southeastern Mosul, according to a security source. “Policemen found on Tuesday morning (Oct. 20) two unidentified corpses on the public street at al-Wehda neighborhood in southeastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The two corpses belong to young men; 25 and 30,” he added, pointing out that they were choked to death.

#3: A roadside bomb wounded two Iraqi soldiers when it struck their patrol in western Mosul, police said.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A dynamite-laden car parked at a gas station detonated during morning hours in the town of Saqlawiyah, 45 miles (75 kilometers) west of Baghdad, killing three policemen and one civilian, a local police officer said. He said five policemen and one civilian were wounded in the same blast.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Two suicide attackers bombed a women's cafeteria and a faculty building at an Islamic university in the Pakistani capital Tuesday, killing two people and wounding 20 others, authorities said. At least two people died and 20 were wounded, he said. Both attackers were also killed.

#2: The army on Monday captured the small town of Kotkai, the birthplace of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud on the approach to an insurgent base in south Waziristan, but militants struck back on Tuesday to retake it, security officials said. "Seven soldiers, including a major, and several Taliban were killed in the fighting," an intelligence official in the region told Reuters. Another intelligence official said jets bombed Taliban positions in and around Kotkai after the militant counter-attack. The militants have had years to prepare their bunkers, but the army says it has surrounded the entire militant zone and was attacking from the north, southwest and southeast.

#3: Six more extremists have been killed and 11 others wounded in ongoing operation Rah-e-Nijat in Northern Waziristan Tuesday. Gunship helicopters, jet planes and ground troops are taking part in the operation. According to sources, security forces are advancing to extremists bases in Makeen and Ladha from the area of Razmak. Extremists death tally has mounted to over 80 and more than 30 hideouts have been destroyed in the continuing operation for last four days, state sources added.

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