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, May 22, 2010

War News for Saturday, May 22, 2010

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF Marine in an IED attack near Patrol Base Almas, in Sangin, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Friday, May 21st.


UK defence minister calls for Afghan troop withdrawal:

Wounded Swedish soldiers in benefits battle:

Vt. soldiers help repel Afghan attack:

In Baghdad Ruins, Remains of a Cultural Bridge:

In Kandahar, the Taliban targets and assassinates those who support U.S. efforts:


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A home made bomb that was planted inside a deserted restauratnt in al Ji'aifir neighbourhood, Karkh, central Baghdad, detonated, around dawn Friday, injuring four policemen standing duty in a nearby checkpoint.


Diyala Prv:
#1: A car bomb exploded Friday at an open-air market crowded with shoppers in a Shiite town northeast of Baghdad, killing 23 people and wounding more than 50, Iraqi police and hospital officials said. The bombing struck the town of Khalis, a Shiite enclave 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Baghdad surrounded by the largely Sunni province of Diyala. It is a former al-Qaida in Iraq stronghold that has seen several powerful blasts, one a twin bombing on a restaurant in March that killed 57. Most of those killed Friday were sitting in a cafe in the center of the market that was reduced to rubble. "There was a sudden explosion followed by heavy shooting with smoke, fire and yelling, then sirens, ambulances, police," said Yasser Mohammed, a 28-year-old blacksmith who walked by the cafe minutes before the blast.

#2: Three Iraqi army soldiers and two policemen were wounded on Saturday, when a roadside bomb went off while they were attempting to defuse it, northeast of Baaquba city. “The incident occurred today in a village around 180 km northeast of Baaquba,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Qandil Mountains:
#1: Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq on Thursday, the state-run Anatolia news agency said. The air strike was carried out against a group of Kurdish rebels seen moving toward the Turkish border, the report said. It did not mention any casualties. Private NTV television said 20 warplanes took part in the strike on targets in the Zap and Hakurk regions along the border. The press office of Turkey's military declined to confirm or deny the attack. Ahmed Danis, a spokesman for the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, said Turkish jets bombed at least three villages in the Qandil mountains, near the area where Iraq, Iran and Turkey intersect. But he said there were no casualties among the fighters because the left their bases a while ago and now live in caves in the area. The bombing went on for about two hours, Danis said, adding that planes could be heard overhead for a few hours later.


Mosul:
#1: A car bomb parked near a mosque in Salamiyah neighbourhood, south Mosul, detonated Friday, injuring seven civilians including a woman and child.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Ten people, including two women and two children, were killed when drones operated by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) fired missiles at a target in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal district. The strike took place in Boya sub-district, some 25 km west of Miranshah, the main city of the district bordering Afghanistan. The Taliban and Al Qaida are known to use the area for staging hit-and-run raids against US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. 'The drones fired four missiles just before midnight at the house of a tribesman, Khyali Dawar,' Online news agency quoted the intelligence official as saying. 'Six people died, and three were injured,' the official added. Two women and two children succumbed to their injuries in hospital. Five women and an equal number of children were injured in the strike. Initially, a Filipino named Ilyas was said to be the target of the attack, as one Arab and four local militants also died in the attack. It was not clear if Ilyas died in the strike. The drones flew overhead for hours, hindering rescue work. There have been several occasions when drones carried out a second strike as people gathered for relief and recovery work at a site of missile attack.

#2: A Sea King helicopter carrying British troops in Afghanistan has been hit by enemy fire while landing. The aircraft was landing at a checkpoint in the Nad-e Ali area of Helmand province on Friday when it was attacked. Taskforce Helmand spokesman Lieutenant Colonel James Carr-Smith said: "Some of those on board suffered minor injuries and are being treated. "The pilot carried out a controlled landing and it is thanks to the skill and professionalism of all those involved that there were no serious injuries. "The extent of the damage to the Sea King is currently being assessed."

#3: At least a dozen people were killed Saturday south of the Afghan capital of Kabul after U.S. troops spotted two insurgents trying to plant bombs, an Afghan official said. The two were shot dead in Paktia province, district chief Gulab Shah said. Troops saw comrades drag the two bodies away and called in a helicopter gunship which killed 10 more people, whom U.S. officials said were all militants, Shah said. Shah said Afghan authorities had launched an investigation to make sure the dead were all insurgents.

#4: At least 27 militants were killed including a commander of militants in different clashes with Pakistani security forces on Saturday in the country's restive northwest tribal areas, local media reported. Four hideouts of militants were destroyed during the operation. Two security personnel were also injured in an attack by militants at a security checkpoint in the Orakzai Agency. Meanwhile, three volunteers were killed in a clash between tribal security personnel and the militants in Bazai area of Mohmand tribal area bordering Afghanistan.


DoD: Pfc. Billy G. Anderson

6 comments:

Dancewater said...

I don't know what to make of that video.

Dancewater said...

ARBIL - Turkish air strikes this week on Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq killed four members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and wounded five others in Arbil province, said Ahmed Danees, a PKK spokesman.

BAGHDAD - A bomb attached to a car exploded and killed the driver, a former leader of Sahwa, a government-backed militia, in Baghdad's southern district of Doura, police said.

MOSUL - A U.S soldier was killed on Friday near Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, the U.S army said in a statement on Saturday, giving no further details.

Dancewater said...

Into Kandahar, Yesterday and Tomorrow

By JOHN F. BURNS

As American forces prepare for a pivotal engagement, a reporter remembers the failures of an earlier time.

Dancewater said...

Afghan insurgents attack key Nato base in Kandahar

Insurgents have attacked Nato's main military base in southern Afghanistan.

A Nato spokesman said Kandahar airfield had come under rocket and mortar fire, followed by a ground assault. Several Nato personnel were wounded.

Officials said the attackers had tried to get into the base, but were repelled by security forces.

It is the second attack on a major installation in the last few days - on Wednesday militants attacked the US military base at Bagram.

Dancewater said...

The death toll from a bomb blast caused by a minivan packed with explosives in a central Iraqi city has increased to 49 people.

The explosion occurred at a market in the central Iraqi town of Khales on Friday night, a Press TV correspondent reported.

According to local police officials, at least 132 people were also wounded in the attack.

Another day of horror in Iraq, thanks to the blood sucking war lovers of the USA.

Dancewater said...

Those evil blood sucking American war lovers are doing their best to get Pakistan in a total state of war too:


US drone attack kills 10 in North Waziristan