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, June 25, 2010

War News for Friday, June 25, 2010

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an "insurgent attack" in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, June 25th.

NATO is reporting another death of an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, June 24th.


American military casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan exceed 500,000 Part II

Pakistan Is Said to Pursue a Foothold in Afghanistan:

As Generals Change, Afghan Debate Narrows to 2 Powerful Voices:


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: “A bomb, stuck to a civilian car, went off late Thursday (June 24) in al-Atifiya region in northern Baghdad, injuring the driver and four passing civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: “Another bomb exploded in al-Ameriya region, western Baghdad, wounding four civilians, who were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment,” he added.

#3: A roadside bomb wounded two civilians late on Thursday in Baghdad's eastern Zayouna district, police said.


Diyala Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb exploded near a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims in Muqdadiya, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Baghdad, wounding two people including one pilgrim, police said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Gunmen kidnapped engineer Bassim Hussein in south Kirkuk. Hussein is an architect engineer working for the local government.

#2: A roadside bomb explosion targeted police patrol in Kirkuk city. The explosion injured an Iraqi air force officer and his daughter as he was driving by in his civilian car.


Mosul:
#1: One civilian was wounded on Thursday in an improvised explosive device blast in western Mosul, a security source said on Thursday.


Tal Afar:
#1: A Katyusha rocket landed in a vacant spot in the area of al-Ma’arid, western Talafar district, Mosul city, on Thursday, but left no casualties, an Iraqi official police source said. “The rocket only left minor material damage,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A suicide bomber blew himself up as police closed in on him in Khaldiya, 83 km (50 miles) west of Baghdad, police said. No one was hurt.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: An Afghan soldier has been killed while fighting alongside Australian troops in southern Afghanistan. The soldier was part of a patrol group that came under fire earlier this week. No Australian soldiers were wounded in the fighting.

#2: A bomb blast destroyed two Nato oil tankers on the outskirts of Peshawar and several vehicles were in flames, reports quoted police as saying. The tankers were carrying fuel to western forces in Afghanistan. Fire-fighters had taken control of the blaze in the Shamkali area. No casualty was reported. Meanwhile, some suspects had been arrested from the scene, police said.

#3: The bodies of 11 men, some beheaded, were found Friday in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan, police said. Deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Khan said a villager in the Bagh Char area of Khas Uruzgan district spotted the bodies in a field and called police. "They were killed because the Taliban said they were spying for the government, working for the government," he said. The acting Uruzgan governor, Khudia Rahim, said five or six of the 11 victims had been beheaded.

#4: Farther south in Kandahar province, a joint force of Afghan security forces and international troops killed a midlevel Taliban commander and other insurgents Thursday who were planting a roadside bomb near the provincial capital, NATO said. Some of the insurgents were killed by a coalition airstrike, NATO said.

#5: At least 10 militants were killed Friday morning in retaliation of Pakistani security forces in troubled Lower Orakzai tribal area, northwest Pakistan, local media reported. Militants attacked a security checkpoint in the area injuring two troops in the early morning incident, according to the private TV DAWN News.

#6: An ISAF helicopter was involved in a hard landing June 25 in Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan. There were no fatalities in the incident, and all personnel on board have been evacuated to nearby ISAF medical treatment facilities.


MoD: Sergeant Steven William Darbyshire

DoD: Cpl. Claudio Patino IV

DoD: Cpl. Kevin A. Cueto

DoD: Cpl. Joshua R. Dumaw

DoD: Pfc. Anthony T. Justesen

DoD: Pfc. Russell E. Madden

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

News for iran gaza

Middle East: Iran cancels Gaza aid shipment ‎ - 2 hours ago

Tehran: Iran cancelled a humanitarian aid shipment to Gaza because of restrictions by Israel, according to a report from the official news agency of Iran. ...
Online - International News Network - 1855 related articles »

Iran: Aid boat will not set sail for Gaza; aid to be sent another way ‎ - Ynetnews - 309 related articles »

Erdoğan to meet Obama at G-20 summit ‎ - Hurriyet Daily News - 751 related articles »

Anonymous said...

Don't get me wrong. I think that the fact that Israel feels

Anonymous said...

Im sorry that doesnt make much sense. Im a bit of a retard at times. Sorry again.

Anonymous said...

This reminds me of a write-up in the local wanganui paper. It was about a man who gave a lady in line at the chemist $10 to pay for her asthma prescription when they wouldnt let her pay them back the same day. He said something along the lines of I did it to help her out and not become a hero with alteria motives.

Israel has commited a grivous evil here by not allowing people to give to those they have forced into their own prison. It isn't the innocent Palestinians crimes that people cannot give to them but Israels. They treat Palestinians like Hitler treated them because even through the generations they still couldn't rid themselves of the movies that play victimisation in their heads, just like Americans who die for and by Americans.

Anonymous said...

Israel lost all their credibility when they planned the slaughter of 200 children. Their pre-meditated murders alone account for far more death then they have suffered themselves.

Anonymous said...

Controversial content
YouTube has also faced criticism over the offensive content in some of its videos. The uploading of videos containing defamation, pornography and material encouraging criminal conduct is prohibited by YouTube's terms of service.[48] Controversial areas for videos have included Holocaust denial and the Hillsborough Disaster, in which 96 football fans from Liverpool were crushed to death in 1989, conspiracy theories and religion.[49][50]

Anonymous said...

YouTube relies on its users to flag the content of videos as inappropriate, and a YouTube employee will view a flagged video to determine whether it violates the site's terms of service.[48] In July 2008 the Culture and Media Committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom stated that it was "unimpressed" with YouTube's system for policing its videos, and argued that "Proactive review of content should be standard practice for sites hosting user generated content." YouTube responded by stating: "We have strict rules on what's allowed, and a system that enables anyone who sees inappropriate content to report it to our 24/7 review team and have it dealt with promptly.

Anonymous said...

Turkish authorities have expressed concerns that YouTube has been used to post videos insulting to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and some material offensive to Muslims.[106][107]