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


Wednesday, July 28, 2010

War News for Wednesday, July 28, 2010

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 27th.

DOD Announces Navy Casualty and Identifies Sailor Listed as Whereabouts Unknown


U.S. Military Chief Presses Iraqis to End Deadlock, Citing Risks to Security Gains


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Meanwhile, two midmorning bombings in Baghdad killed six people and injured 15 others in the eastern Shiite slum of Sadr City, police and health officials said. The bombs, which went off close to each other about 9:15 a.m., were planted near a state-run bank where retirees were waiting to get their pensions, the officials said. The dead included three men, two women and one Iraqi security official, officials said.


Diyala Prv:
#1: Three civilians were wounded on Tuesday by gunmen in Jalawlaa district, according to a security source. “Unknown gunmen opened fire on a group of civilians in Dabaj region in Jalawlaa, southwest of Khanaqin, injuring three of them, who were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Karbala:
#1: A sandstorm downed an Iraqi military helicopter Wednesday, killing its five-man crew. Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari said the helicopter was flying to provide air protection to Shiite pilgrims travelling by road to the holy city of Karbala, when it crashed in the sandstorm early in the morning.

#2: A mortar attack has killed seven people and wounded 46 in the southern Shiite holy city of Karbala as pilgrims gathered for a ceremony, Iraqi police say. "Several mortars landed at 11:00pm Tuesday [local time], killing seven pilgrims and injuring 46, in a neighbourhood located four kilometres north-west of the centre of the city," a Karbala police officer said.


Mosul:
#1: A total of ten civilians were wounded in a blast in central Mosul on Tuesday, according to a security source. “Gunmen threw a hand grenade at a police vehicle patrol on Ghazi street in central Mosul on Tuesday (July 27), injuring ten civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Unknown gunmen stormed a house and killed an old woman and her son in northern Mosul on Tuesday, a police source said. “Three armed men stormed a house in al-Muhanddiseen neighborhood, northern Mosul, where they killed an old woman and her 20-year-old son,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A bombing attack has targeted a crowded bus in southwestern Afghanistan, leaving at least 25 people killed and wounding some 20 others. The explosion took place early on Wednesday when a roadside bomb hit a civilian bus as it was travelling on a highway in the Delaram district of Nimruz province. "The roadside bomb struck a civilian bus this morning. Twenty civilians were killed and another 27 have been injured," AFP quoted provincial governor Ghulam Dastgir Azad as saying.

#2: Taliban militants captured a NATO plane in Kunduz province north of Afghanistan Wednesday morning, a local official said but declined to be named. Meantime, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that the militants captured a reconnaissance plane in Qalai Zal district at 09:00 .a.m. local time Wednesday. An official with NATO-led forces in Kunduz province also confirmed the incident. "A reconnaissance UAD plane made emergency landing in Yangariq area of Qalai Zal district this morning," Lieutenant Colonel Weber told Xinhua. However, he did not say if there were any crews inside the plane.

#3: Seven Polish soldiers were wounded in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday when a roadside bomb blew up as their armoured vehicle passed, the Polish defence ministry said. "In the south of the province of Ghazni, the rebels attacked a Polish patrol with an explosive device planted on the side of the road," the ministry said in a statement.


MoD: Sapper Mark Antony Smith

DoD: Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

in light of how much trouble the US has had in Iraq and Afghanistan - two countries with no air force and no navy and no real army - can you imagine what would happen if they were actually attacked by a country with a real military????

It would be a bloodbath - on the US side.

Anonymous said...

ISRAEL deployed its navy yesterday as two ships from Lebanon prepared to set sail for the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Israeli defense officials said ships were deployed to stop the vessels and that commandos from the navy's Flotilla 13, known as the Shayetet, were put on standby.

The two Lebanese vessels were expected to depart either today or tomorrow in an attempt to break the Gaza blockade by the end of the week.

One of the ships is reportedly carrying women and the other is carrying journalists.

"They want to purposely create a provocation," one Israeli defense official said.

Anonymous said...

Cameron’s comments on Gaza had come earlier in the day during a visit to Turkey, which has had strained relations with Israel since the country’s troops boarded ships bound for

Gaza earlier this year, killing eight Turks and one Turkish-American.

The attack was “completely unacceptable”, the Prime Minister said, adding: “Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.”

Within hours, a spokesman for the Israeli embassy in London had hit back, insisting that Hamas, which won elections in Gaza in 2006, was responsible for conditions there, not the Israelis. “The situation in Gaza is the direct result of Hamas’s rule and priorities,” he said.

Anonymous said...

Chess is a fair game. No regard was given to Palestinians and now no regard is given to you. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Before the invasion of Gaza and through the 6 months cease fire where rockets were vastly limited efforts were not made towards peace but the invasion was being planned the entire time. Such tricky deception for the lives of 200 children.

Anonymous said...

Edward Gamblin-Don't Blame It On The Rain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Mu9LZ9QM0