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, June 22, 2010

War News for Tuesday, June 22, 2010

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an "insurgent attack" in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, June 21st.


In Iraqi Danger Zone, Violence Resists a Timetable:

U.S. indirectly paying Afghan warlords as part of security contract:

Top general in Afghanistan recalled to Washington:


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: a roadside bomb apparently aimed at a convoy carrying a senior Transportation Ministry official missed its target and killed two bystanders instead. The 8 a.m. blast occurred in the mainly Sunni area of Dora, a former insurgent stronghold in southern Baghdad. Abdullah Loaebi, the director-general of the ministry's private transportation department, was unharmed, but police and hospital officials said two people were killed and eight others wounded.

#2: A roadside bomb also struck near the office of a Shiite religious party in Baghdad, wounding 10 people, including eight guards, according to police and hospital officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.


Diyala Prv:
#1: A bomb attached to a car carrying the leader of an anti-al-Qaida Sunni group later exploded in Buhriz, a former Saddam Hussein stronghold about 35 miles (60 kilometers) north of Baghdad in Diyala province. Maj. Ghalib al-Karkhi, a police spokesman for Diyala, said the blast killed Raad al-Mujamai, the leader of the so-called Awakening Council in a nearby village.

#2: A motorcycle bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol exploded in the Diyala provincial capital of Baqouba, wounding eight civilians.


Mosul:
#1: A mortar shell hit al-Hadbaa Faculty in Mosul without causing casualties, a police source said on Monday. “The shell landed on the external fence of the al-Hadbaa Faculty building in eastern Mosul, causing only material damage,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: One civilian was killed on Monday by gunmen in western Mosul, a police source said. “Unknown gunmen shot and killed a civilian in Tal al-Rouman region in western Mosul on Monday (June 21) and fled,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Tal Afar:
#1: A Katyusha rocket hit on Monday a house in northern Talafar in western Mosul, without leaving casualties, an official police source said. “The rocket hit the house in al-Nour neighborhood in northern Talafar, without causing casualties,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: One civilian was killed on Tuesday when a bomb that was put inside his car went off in central Falluja city. “The civilian died instantaneously,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He did not mention further details, but noted that the car was heavily damaged.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A bomb hit a truck in Kishk-e-Kuhna district in Herat province, killing five civilians and injuring three others Monday, a police spokesman said.

#2: A man and his wife riding a motorbike were killed by an explosion in Pasawand district of Ghor province Monday, the Interior Ministry said.

#3: Airstrikes against Taliban militants left 25 insurgents dead in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province Monday night, a statement of NATO-led forces released in southeastern region on Tuesday said. It said that based on intelligence report which indicated armed militants' activities in Urgon district of Paktika province aircraft was called in during which 25 militants including some foreign fighters had been killed but the statement did not disclose their nationalities.

#4: In separate incident six Taliban militants were killed as police forces repealed their attacks on police outposts in Jani Khil district of the same province Paktika on Monday night, a police officer who declined to be named told Xinhua. The official also said that a policeman was also injured in the gunfights lasted for a while.

#5: A female suicide bomber wounded 18 people including three police officers in an attack on a police check post in the Shigal district of eastern Kunar province on Monday, the Interior Ministry said.

#6: Three would-be-suicide bombers were killed when their suicide vests went off in the Marjah town of southern Helmand province on Monday, Interior Ministry said.

#7: A roadside bomb organized by militants wounded the head of the provincial council and his son in Afghanistan's western Farah province on Tuesday. "The incident occurred at 07:30 a.m. local time. As a result, Nazir Khidmat the head of Provincial Council of Farah province and his son were injured," deputy to provincial governor's administration Mohammad Yunus Rasouli told Xinhua.


MoD: Marine Richard Hollington

DoD: Spc. Joseph D. Johnson

DoD: Pfc. Gunnar R. Hotchkin

DoD: Spc. Nathan W. Cox

DoD: Pfc. Benjamin J. Park

DoD: Staff Sgt. James P. Hunter

DND/CF: Sergeant James Patrick Macneil

AU/DoD: Private Tim Aplin

AU/DoD: Private Ben Chuck

AU/DoD: Private Scott Palmer

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Blog posts about Knight*H2

Iran To Send Aid Ship To Bust Gaza Blockade - The Huffington Post | Full News Feed - 1 hour ago

World United News: Iran awaiting Egyptian Gaza aid route - World United News - 4 hours ago

AL ARABIYA: Iran aid ship to sail for Gaza Sunday: Report - Iran News Digest | Quality Articles, Clutter Free! -

Cervantes said...

I heartily recommend this Tom Engelhardt piece on the Decline and Fall of the American Empire. One wonders how the McChrystal kerfuffle will play out in the context of growing recognition that the Afghanistan project is both pointless and hopeless. One school of thought is that it's best not to fire him until he has been proven a failure. Politically, Obama can't just can him now, declare Joe Biden right in the first place, and get the hell out. Instead, he has to buy a political way out at the cost of thousands of human lives and tens of billions of squandered dollars.

On the other hand, if he doesn't can Stan, he does indeed end up looking like a wimp. Which is exactly what Stan wanted to accomplish.

Anonymous said...

Israel has caved to international pressure and will now allow into Gaza everything except weapons and items which have primarily military uses.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37815570/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa

The brave members of the Gaza flotilla did not die in vain; the situation of the people in Gaza will be improved because of their sacrifice. Kudos to these heroes and may they rest in peace.

Good for them. Keep the pressure on.

From the article:

In a critical shift, Israel said it would allow construction materials into Gaza for projects approved by the Palestinian Authority, such as housing and schools, as long as the projects are under international supervision.


Of course this isn't an adequate solution, but it is a step that will alleviate some suffering of the people of Gaza. For that we can thank the people who died in the flotilla.

Anonymous said...

I realise this isnt Iraq or Afghan but all these things are connected and cum under similar influences. So a win in Gaza will not only bring joy to Iraqis, I am sure, but will also bring encouragement for wins in Iraq to alleviate the same problems. We will see.

Anonymous said...

Greater love has no man(or women) then this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Anonymous said...

News for the poor kurds

Q&A - Violence wrecks Turkey's opening to Kurds ‎ - 7 hours ago

By Ibon Villelabeitia ANKARA (Reuters) - Kurdish separatist rebels have stepped up attacks against military targets in EU candidate Turkey, killing more ...
Reuters India - 652 related articles »

After Kurdish Attacks, Turkey Beefs Up Major Offensive ‎ - AOL News - 1538 related articles »

HRW urges Iraqi Kurds to ban female circumcision ‎ - The Associated Press - 306 related articles »