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


Wednesday, October 7, 2009

War News for Wednesday, October 07, 2009

MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - South soldier a non-combat related injury presumable in Basra Iraq on Tuesday, October 6th.

CNN is reporting the death of a Spanish ISAF soldier in a roadside bombing near Syah Washan, Herat Province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 7th. Five additional soldiers were wounded in the blast.

No ISAF service members were killed over the past 24 hours.


Oct. 3 airpower summary:

Afghan insurgents pushed into U.S. base, official says:

Taliban Stepping Up Attacks on NATO Supply Convoys: Figures released to TIME by NATO showed that from June to September this year, over 145 truck drivers and guards were killed in attacks on convoys and 123 vehicles were destroyed.

Chinese conglomerates snapping up world's oil, gas fields:

Only one US cargo flown to Afghanistan via Russia:

Obama Rules Out Large Reduction in Afghan Force:

Afghanistan patrol shows limits of U.S. equipment, supplies:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: One civilian was killed and six people including two policemen were injured by two roadside bomb in Athemiyah neighborhood in northeast Baghdad around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

#2: An Iraqi soldier was killed and four people including two soldiers were injured by a bomb that was planted near a blast wall in Ghadeer neighborhood in east Baghdad around 8 p.m. Tuesday.


Abu Ghraib:
#1: Three civilians were wounded Wednesday in a hand grenade blast west of Baghdad, a police source said. “Unknown gunmen threw a hand grenade on a police vehicle patrol near Abu Ghrieb hospital, west of Baghdad, injuring three passing civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Basra:
#1: Gunmen raided currency exchange office in downtown Basra on Tuesday morning killing the office owner, one employee, injuring another and robbing 150 thousands dollars.

#2: On Monday evening, a bomb detonated near liquor store in downtown Basra. No casualties were reported.


Samarra:
#1: Gunmen shot and wounded an off-duty policeman in front of his house in central Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, on Tuesday, police said.


Shirqat:
#1: Iraqi police found the bodies of three police officers kidnapped a month ago, on the outskirts of Shirqat, 300 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad, on Tuesday, police said.


Sinjar:
#1: Two civilians were injured by a roadside bomb that targeted a police patrol in Bab Sinjar area in west Mosul on Tuesday afternoon.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: The Iraqi town of Amiriya is recovering after being struck by a minibus explosion. The blast has killed at least nine people and wounded 31. Five of the dead were police officers, according to the leader of the town council.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A rocket fired by insurgents in Ghazni province, south of Afghanistan, hit a bus killing two persons and injuring 25 others on Wednesday, a statement of Interior Ministry said. "The gruesome incident carried out by rebels occurred in Qarabagh district this morning as a result two innocent commuters of the bus were killed and 25 others sustained injuries," the statement added.

#2: Three soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were injured as a roadside bomb struck a vehicle in Wardak province, west of Afghan capital Kabul, Tuesday, an official said. "The incident occurred at around noon in Nurkh district, injuring three ISAF soldiers," spokesman of the provincial administration Shahidullah Shahid told Xinhua.

#3: Three children were killed when a roadside bomb they were planting went off in Zhari district of southern Kandahar province, district governor Niaz Mohammad Sarhadi said. Militants gave the children the bomb to avoid being caught themselves, but they did not know how to plant it properly, Sarhadi said.

#4: Three Afghan policemen were killed when their military vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Ghazni's Qarabagh district, provincial police chief Khial Baz Sherzai said.

#5: Eight militants were killed in various raids by Afghan and foreign forces, the Afghan defence ministry said.

#6: Police found the bodies of six militants in a dried-up creek on the outskirts of the northwestern town of Hangu on Wednesday, a police spokesman said. He said they were apparently shot dead late on Tuesday but it was not known who shot them.

#7: Security forces killed eight militants in a clash that broke out after militants attacked an army camp in North Waziristan, intelligence officials said.


MoD: Guardsman Jamie Janes

News: Cpl. Ancor Cabello Santana

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