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


Saturday, April 17, 2010

War News for Saturday, April 17, 2010

The DoD is reporting a new death. Pfc. Jonathon D. Hall died at at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany on Thursday, April 8th. He was originally wounded in an ied attack at Contingency Outpost Khayr-Kot-Castle, Afghanistan on some unknown date.


Volcano sparks more flight disruptions: The military also had to adjust. Five German soldiers wounded in Afghanistan were diverted to Turkey instead of Germany, while U.S. medical evacuations for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are being flown directly from the warfronts to Washington rather than to a care facility in Germany. The U.S. military has also stopped using temporarily closed air bases in the U.K. and Germany.

UN guard probably killed by Afghan police - officials:

McChrystal: too many contractors in Afghanistan:

U.S. Indicts 5 Blackwater Ex-Officials:


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Iraqi police killed a gunman who opened fire on a police checkpoint in the Amiriya district in western Baghdad, Baghdad security command said in a statement.

#2: A bomb attached to a car exploded in the Doura district in southern Baghdad, wounding one civilian, police said.

#3: Gunmen killed a civilian in Amil district in southwestern Baghdad, police said.


Basra:
#1: A bomb planted in the house of a leader of the local government-backed council leader exploded in central Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad on Friday night, killing his wife and wounding his son, police said.


Baaj:
#1: Police found the bodies of two men with gunshot wounds to the head in Baaj, 375 km (233 miles) northeeast of Baghdad, police aid.


Tuz Khurmato:
#1: A bomb attached to a vehicle exploded in Tuz Khurmato, 170 km (105 miles) north of Baghdad, wounding six people including two police officers, the police said


Mosul:
#1: Iraqi security forces killed a suspect al-Qaeda in Iraq leader in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad during a joint operation with U.S. troops, the U.S. military said



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: At least 32 people were killed and more than 50 were injured in suicide attacks Saturday at a camp for displaced people in northwest Pakistan, officials said. The attacks occurred about noon in Kohat town in the North West Frontier Province, said Khalid Khan Umarzai, a local commissioner. There were two blasts from two separate suicide attackers at the camp, which is for people who have fled the military offensive in the area, officials said. Police said both suicide bombers were wearing burqas. When people came to help those injured in the first blast, a second one went off, wounding and killing more people.

#2: Pakistani security forces have killed at least 25 suspected militants in overnight raids near the Afghan border, officials said. Local government official Samiullah Khan says several other insurgents were wounded when troops backed by artillery and helicopters targeted militant positions in the troubled Orakzai tribal region. He says helicopters also targeted militant positions in Orakzai.

#3: A roadside bomb struck a police van in the eastern Afghan province of Khost Saturday morning, killing two policemen and wounding three others, a local official said. "The incident occurred in Dawamanda district at 09:30 a.m. local time, killing two policemen and wounding three others," Syed Ahmad Khan Wafa, the governor of Dawamanda district told Xinhua. He also said that the police were on the way to Gerdez city when faced the deadly blast.

#4: Hours ago, another blast targeted a van of intelligence organ in Jalalabad city, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, injuring six persons, according to officials there.


DoD: Pfc. Jonathon D. Hall

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