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, January 7, 2010

War News for Thursday, January 07, 2010

The AP is reporting the death of a of a Multi-National Division - North soldier in a non-combat related injury in an undisclosed location in Iraq on Wednesday, January 6th. (Note: there was a mnf release with restricted access posted yesterday on MNF/OIF press release web site which was quickly removed.)


Jan. 3 airpower summary: Jan. 4 airpower summary: Jan. 5 airpower summary:

Iraq, Iran to meet to draw disputed border:

Holbrooke to visit Pakistan, Afghanistan next week:

U.N. Envoy to Afghanistan Warns of Peril of Emphasizing Security Over Social Isues:


Reported security incidents

Diyala Prv:
#1: In a separate incident in northeastern Iraq's Diyala province, a bomb exploded near a police station, killing one policeman and injuring ten other people near the Iranian border, police and hospital officials said.

Three people were killed and 15 others injured in a bomb explosion near a Shiite mosque in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala on Thursday, a provincial police source said. The incident took place on Thursday morning when an explosive charge went off outside the mosque in the town of Khanaqin, near the Iranian border, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

#2: Four civilians were killed or wounded in an explosive device blast in al-Saadiya district, a local security source said on Wednesday. “The device, which hit a Kia-modeled vehicle on Imam Wees road, southern al-Saadiya district (35 km south of Khanaqin), killed one civilian and injuring three others,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Balad:
#1: A suicide bomber riding a bicycle targeted a local pro-government militia checkpoint in Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, wounding eight, on Wednesday, police said.


Tuz Khurmato:
#1: A roadside bomb killed one child and wounded four others in Tuz Khurmato, 170 km (105 miles) north of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said


Kirkuk:
#1: Five children have been killed or wounded when a bomb detonated near Kirkuk, a local security source said on Wednesday. “A 10-year-old child was killed and four others were wounded after playing with a bomb in Yankeeja village (80 km south of Kirkuk),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1-4: Coordinated bombings early Thursday shattered the homes of four police officers in the western Iraqi town of Heet, killing seven people including the town's anti-terror chief, an official said. Attackers planted explosives around the bedrooms of the policemen in the town, 60 kilometres (35 miles) west of the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi, said Lieutenant Colonel Fadhil Nimrawi, the head of the town's emergency response unit. "The bombs killed seven people, including the anti-terror chief, and wounded six others, including women and children from the four families." The dead also included Heeti's wife and mother, a child, and three other police officers, Nimrawi said.

#1: Col. Fadhil Nimrawi said one explosion targeted a house belonging to Lt. Colonel Walid Sulaiman al-Hiti, the director of the anti-terrorism unit in the town of Hit, about 85 miles (140 kilometers) west of Baghdad.

#2: A second explosion targeted the home of his father next door. Slaiman was wounded and his mother, two sisters, another family member and a child were killed.

#3: Nimrawi said a lawyer was killed by another bomb at his home

#4: and a fourth bomb exploded at the home of a police officer, injuring him as he slept. Seven people were injured in the bombings, Nimrawi said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: THREE rockets were fired into a residential area of Kabul today, injuring three civilians, the government said. The attack was in the Qalafa area, about three miles south-east of central Kabul.

#2: update the death toll from missile strikes rose to 17, with the recovery of more bodies. The first strike occurred at 3.30pm and two missiles hit the compound. The second strike took place an hour later when militants were retrieving bodies and helping the injured, a resident of Sunzali said.

#3: Tahir Khan Saberi, the acting governor for the south-eastern province of Khost, was holding a meeting with other provincial officials in his office when a bomb hidden inside the building was detonated, General Mohmmad Nawab said. Saberi's chief of staff and head of education for the province were among those wounded, he said, adding that their injuries were not life-threatening. Two local journalists were also among the injured.

#4: Three Taliban militants including their commander were killed as foreign troops raided a compound in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province Tuesday night, local police said Wednesday. "Troops with the U.S. special forces during a search operation raided a compound in Chardara district late last night and killed three militants including their commander Baz Mohammad," Abdul Rahman Haqtash, deputy provincial police chief, told Xinhua. Three other militants were arrested during the operation, he added.

#5: Roadside bomb explosion wounds six Danish soldiers near their operating base in the Helmand Province. Three Danish soldiers have been wounded in Afghanistan as their vehicle is hit by an improvised explosive near their Forward Operating Base Armadillo in the Helmand province. A further three soldiers received minor injuries during the extraction of their injured colleagues yesterday afternoon, but the spokesman said two had already resumed their duties and the third would soon follow.

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