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


Friday, January 22, 2010

War News for Friday, January 22, 2010

MNF-Iraq (OIF) is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier from non-combat related vehicle accident in an undisclosed location in Iraq on Wednesday, January 20th.


US to supply Pakistan with 12 Shadow drones:

NWFP govt. sacks 30 employees over Taliban links:

Yemeni soldier killed in gunmen attack:

More Finnish Troops to Afghanistan:

German minister hints at Afghan troop increase:

Romania to send 600 more troops to Afghanistan:


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a lieutenant of the interior ministry’s police affairs department in Baghdad al-Jadieda region in northeastern Baghdad,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: “Another police lieutenant was killed by an armed group while driving his private car in al-Sidiya neighborhood in southern Baghdad,” the same source added.


Hilla:
#1: A policeman was killed on Thursday in a roadside bomb blast in the northwest of Hilla, a police source said. “The bomb, planted on the main road in Jarf al-Sakhr district, northwest of Hilla, went off targeting a police vehicle patrol, killing the driver and destroying the vehicle,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diwaniya:
#1: Najaf governor survived an attempt on his life on Friday when a roadside bomb went off targeting his motorcade in Diwaniya, a media official said. “A roadside bomb went off on Friday (Jan. 22) targeting the motorcade of Najaf Governor Adnan al-Zerfi while visiting the city of Diwaniya,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The governor survived the attack,” he asserted, noting that the blast left no casualties.


Hawija:
#1: An Iraqi soldier was wounded in an improvised explosive device attack southwest of Kirkuk city on Thursday, according to the Kirkuk Districts’ Police Department (KDPD) chief. “An IED went off near an Iraqi army patrol inside al-Huweija district, (65 km) southwest of Kirkuk, leaving a soldier wounded and the vehicle damaged,” Brig. Sarhad Qader told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: Two civilians were wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack that targeted policemen in western Mosul city on Thursday, a local security force in Ninewa said. “The IED blast targeted a police patrol in the area of al-Zanjili, western Mosul, leaving two civilians wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “One of the two men was wounded due to the random fire opened by the police while the other was injured in the blast,” the source added.

#2: Iraqi army forces shot dead a suicide bomber who was driving a truck bomb that went off partially west of Mosul city on Thursday, according to an army source. “The bomber was planning to detonated his truck laden with explosives near the headquarters of an Iraqi army company in the district of al-Biaaj, west of Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The truck bomb went off partially. The bomber tried to escape but Iraqi soldiers shot him down,” the source said, adding “an officer in the rank of lieutenant was injured in the incidents”.

#3: An attacker wounded two people when he hurled a hand grenade into a pharmacy on Thursday in central Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#4: A roadside bomb exploded outside the home of a Christian family, wounding a child, in central Mosul, on Thursday, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Pakistani army helicopters opened fire on a car in North Waziristan on Friday, killing one person in a region where the U.S. is pressing for action against al-Qaida and the Taliban, intelligence officials said. Two other people in the vehicle were wounded in the attack on the outskirts of Miran Shah town, the officials said. The identity of the victims was not known. The officials said the car, which had left the compound of the Tablighi Jemaat Islamic missionary group in the town, was targeted because it violated a curfew. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secrecy of their work.

Pakistani forces backed by helicopter gunships attacked a militant hideout in a major al Qaeda and Taliban sanctuary on the Afghan border on Friday, killing two militants, officials said. “An intense exchange of fire is going on between militants and the security forces,” said an intelligence official in the region who declined to be identified.Residents said authorities had imposed a curfew as security forces attacked the militants on the outskirts of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan. Two militants had been killed, another security official said.

#2: On Thursday, the Pakistani army said it cannot launch any new offensives in the border area for at least six months so it can consolidate gains against militants there in other operations over the last year.


DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Michael P. Shannon

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