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


Tuesday, May 18, 2010

War News for Tuesdayy, May 18, 2010

NATO is reporting the deaths of six ISAF soldiers in a suicide car bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday, May 17th. An undisclosed number of ISAF soldiers were wounded and numerous Afghan civilians were killed and wounded. News reports that five of the six dead soldiers were Americans. (see articles below for details.)


A member of NATO-led forces was killed in a bomb attack in western Afghanistan, the alliance said in a statement. A NATO spokesman did not give the nationality. (Confirmed by NATO)

A member of NATO-led forces was killed in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said, without giving details of the incident or the nationality of the dead person. (Confirmed by NATO)

Some details on Chris Carter, David Taylor and Daniel Saville who were the three British men killed on the plane crash in Afghanistan.


Suicide Car Bomber Hits U.S. Convoy in Afghanistan:

Taliban suicide bomb hits NATO convoy, kills 18:


Reported security incidents

Diyala Prv:
#1: One gunman was killed and another wounded when a roadside bomb they were attempting to plant went off on Monday north of Baaquba city. “The incident occurred at a main road, 100 km north of Baaquba,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Tikrit:
#1: House of high-ranked Sahwa fighter south of Tikrit city was detonated on Tuesday. “The fighter was not at his house (70 km south of Tikrit) when the blast occurred,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He noted that the fighter’s two daughters were killed in the blast. “A child was also wounded,” the source pointed out.

#2: Armed men opened fire upon a Sahwa checkpoint in al Sahil al Aysar (the left bank) in Shirqat district, to the north of Tikrit, Monday, seriously injuring five Sahwa members.


Mosul:
#1: Two women were wounded by an improvised explosive device in eastern Mosul, according to a police source. “An improvised explosive device went off on Monday (May 17) targeting an army vehicle patrol in al-Muthanna neighborhood in eastern Mosul, injuring two women,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: One civilian was wounded on Monday when gunmen opened fire at an army checkpoint in eastern Mosul, according to a security source. “The gunmen opened fire in al-Harir neighborhood in eastern Mosul, injuring a passing civilian,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol in Dera Ismail Khan has killed 13 people including four policemen, report said on Tuesday. The bomb exploded as the patrol travelled through the town of Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday, reported China's Xinhua news agency. The dead included a senior police officer, DSP Iqbal Khan, as well as his two guards and driver. Khan was on his way to his office when his patrol was targeted in Kachi Paid Khan area at Bannu Road by the bomb planted in a rickshaw. A senior police official in Dera Ismail Khan says nine civilians were also killed by the blast, including two schoolchildren and a woman.

#2: Afghan troops rescued five United Nations workers in a northern province one month after they were kidnapped by insurgents, officials said Tuesday. Police spokesman Lal Mohammed Ahmadzai said the freed hostages were in good health. "Afghan security forces launched a joint operation in Dana Ghori district of Baghlan province on Monday evening and freed five Afghans UN staff members," said General Murad Ali Murad, army chief for the northern region. Murad said two soldiers and several insurgents died in the rescue.


DoD: Petty Officer Zarian Wood

RDM: Sergeant-Major Valerică Leu

10 comments:

whisker said...

A Taliban suicide car bomber struck a NATO convoy in the Afghan capital Tuesday, killing six troops - five Americans and one Canadian, officials said. Twelve Afghan civilians also died - many of them on a public bus in rush-hour traffic. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/18/AR2010051801597.html

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