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, August 25, 2010

War News for Wednesday, August 25, 2010

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers during a small arms fire/shooting incident in an undisclosed location in western Afghanistan on Wednesday, August 25th. Various news reports indicate that an Afghan driver and or recruit shot two Spanish soldiers and their interpreter in a training facility somewhere in Badghis province.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 24th.


Blast hits Iran-Turkey pipeline, Kurd rebels blamed

CIA sees increased threat from al-Qaeda in Yemen


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: The deadliest attack occurred in north Baghdad where a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb in a parking lot behind a police station, killing 15 people, including six policemen and nine civilians. Another 58 were wounded in the attack in Baghdad's Qahira neighborhood, police and hospital officials said.

#2: a car bomb that killed two civilians in Adan Square, in the north of the city and wounded eight people.

A parked car bomb exploded in a busy street in the Allawi commercial area in central Baghdad killing two civilians and wounding seven others.

#3: Gunmen in a western Baghdad neighborhood ambushed a police patrol, killing one,

#4: while a roadside bomb hit an army patrol nearby leaving a soldier dead.

#5: A roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi police patrol in western Baghdad and wounded three Iraqi soldiers.

#6: Unknown gunmen shot and killed a member of the municipality council of the Sadr City in eastern Baghdad on Tuesday, according to a security source. “The gunmen opened fire on Ahmad Hassan, a member of the municipality council of Sadr City, inside his house in Jamiela neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, killing him instantly,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diyala Prv:
#1: Just north of the capital, in Muqdadiyah, the local council building was also hit with a car bomb, killing three civilians and injuring 18, according to the spokesman of Diyala police, Maj. Ghalib al-Karkhi.

#2: Afterwards, a booby-trapped car parking outside a hospital some 100 meters away from the government office detonated, wounding six people, the source said. The second blast was apparently designed to hit the wounded victims of the suicide attack as well as the security forces which were to arrive at the scene after the first blast, the source added.

#3: Bombs left outside five homes in Buhriz, south of Baquba, in Diyala province left at least four people wounded, police said. The bombs were left outside the homes of four policemen and an electoral commission official.

#4: A suicide bomber blew up a car bomb in central Baaquba on Tuesday, leaving unspecified number of casualties, according to a security source. “The bomber blew up the car bomb on the main road in Baaquba al-Jadieda region, central Baaquba, killing and injuring a number of persons,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Ambulances rushed to the area to carry the victims,” he added. He did not give more details.

#5: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded four policemen in Balad Ruz, 90 km (55 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police said.

#6: Two policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb went off near their vehicle in Saadiya town, 100 km (70 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police said.

#7: Gunmen shot dead a government employee in a market in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Mussayab:
#1: “An improvised explosive device went off on Tuesday (Aug. 24) near a car in al-Khedr region, in al-Musayab district, northern Hilla, killing the driver and destroying his vehicle,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: “Another bomb exploded near an Iraqi army vehicle patrol, killing a soldier,” he added.


Kut:
#1: At least 23 people were killed and some 60 wounded on Wednesday in a powerful car bomb explosion outside the police headquarters in the city of Kut, the capital of Wasit province, 170 km southeast of Baghdad, a provincial police source said. "We have 23 people killed and 60 inured by the powerful blast in Kut," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The blast took place at about 10:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) when an explosive-packed vehicle parking in front of the city police headquarters detonated, destroying the headquarters' building and a nearby government building, the source said. The powerful blast totally destroyed the police building and many people were buried under debris, the source said, adding that severe damages hit the nearby buildings.

Southeast of Baghdad, in Kut, eight policemen were killed and 20 people were injured when a suicide bomber detonated his car bomb next to the town's local council, police and hospital officials said.

#2: One civilian was killed on Tuesday by gunmen in southern Kut, a police source said. “Unidentified gunmen attacked a civilian, working as a coach for a sports club, in southern Kut using knives, killing him and fleeing to unknown place,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Iskandariyah:
#1: The south witnessed scattered attacks as well, including a car bomb that killed a local man on the road near Iskandariyah, 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Baghdad.


Karbala:
#1: In the Shiite holy city of Karbala a car bomb exploded near the police station, wounding 28 people but leaving no fatalities.


Basra:
#1: Two people in the southern port city of Basra were also injured by a car packed with explosives.

#2: Three civilians were wounded on Tuesday in an explosion in west of Basra, according to a security source. “The bomb went off targeting a U.S. convoy on Mohammad al-Qassem road, west of Basra, injuring three civilians, and damaging a U.S. Hummer vehicle and a civilian car,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. For his part, the media advisor of the U.S. army in Iraq, Nader Suleiman, denied any attack on U.S. troops in Basra or in its surrounding areas.


Tikrit:
#1: Police also came under attack in Tikrit in the northwest, where a police station was blown up in a car bombing. Several officers were injured in the attack.

#2: Outside of the city, a police patrol came under attack by insurgents using guns and explosives. One insurgent was killed and several policemen injured in the attack.


Dujail:
#1: A car bomb exploded outside Dujail police station about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Baghdad and wounded three police officers.


Samarra:
#1: The chief of Facility Protection Services in Samarra was seriously hurt when two bombs went off in quick succession as his convoy passed by in central Samarra -- about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Baghdad. The service is in charge of providing security protection to government institutions.


Kirkuk:
#1: Police were also targeted in the northern oil hub of Kirkuk, where a car bomb killed one policeman and wounded eight more.


Mosul:
#1: A suicide bomber driving a car tried to attack an Iraqi army security checkpoint in eastern Mosul but security forces shot and detonated the car.


Tal Afar:
#1: One 4-year child was killed and three persons were wounded when eight Katyusha rockets hit on Wednesday different areas of the Talafar suburb, northwest of Mosul city. “One of the rockets hit a house in the Saad neighborhood, western Talafar (60 km northwest of Mosul city) leaving heavy damage,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Another soldier was killed west of the capital in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-packed car into a convoy. Another 10 people were injured, police said.

#2: In Fallujah, west of the capital, at least three people were killed in several bomb attacks. A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed two children and injured several people outside the city and a second such attack later in the morning killed a soldier and injured 10 people.

#3: Police in the area said an armed militant was killed while planting a bomb.

#4: A sticky bomb attached to the car of a local government official wounded him and two others in central Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.

#5: A roadside bomb near a police checkpoint killed two children and wounded their mother and brother in central Falluja, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Afghan police and Spanish troops clashed early Wednesday outside a base in western Afghanistan, leaving at least one policeman dead, local officials said. The cause of the incident in western Badghis province's Qalay-I-Naw district was under investigation, said provincial government spokesman Sharafuddin Majidi. Majid Khan Shkib, a member of the provincial council, said it wasn't clear who had fired first and there were unconfirmed reports of casualties among the Spanish troops. Spain's interior minister says an Afghan policeman taking part in a training course has opened fire on his instructors, killing two Spanish police officers and their interpreter. Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba says the incident occurred Wednesday near a Spanish military base in western Badghis province. He said Spanish police returned fire and killed the student.

#2: A Finnish solder serving as a peacekeeper in Afghanistan was wounded from an accidental shot in the leg on Tuesday. According to Lieutenant-Colonel Mikael Feldt, who assumed the role of the commander of the Finnish ISAF troops on Monday, the accident took place in the Aybak base when the troops were preparing to leave for the shooting range. “Before leaving the base the weapons are always loaded and put at safety. The accident occurred inside the base, but at this point we are unable to provide additional information as to what exactly happened”, Feldt explained over the telephone from Mazar-i-Sharif. The victim has been operated on. His condition is not life-threatening.


DoD: Sgt. Brandon E. Maggart

DoD: Sgt. Jason D. Calo

DoD: Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche

DoD: Sgt. Steven J. Deluzio

DoD: Spc. Tristan H. Southworth

DoD: Sgt. Ronald A. Rodriguez

DoD: Lance Cpl. Robert J. Newton

AU/DoD: Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney

8 comments:

Cervantes said...

It seems that once again the excrement is hitting the ventilator. Sigh.

The Wiz said...

Its only logical that the enemy will test the Iraqi military now that the US has withdrawn all combat troops. Imagine how bad it will get when all US troops are withdrawn.

Cervantes said...

Oh yeah, sure The paradise the U.S. invasion made of Iraq isn't going to last if we leave.

"Iraq has between 25 and 50 percent unemployment, a dysfunctional parliament, rampant disease, an epidemic of mental illness, and sprawling slums. The killing of innocent people has become part of daily life. What a havoc the United States has wreaked in Iraq. . .

For the past few decades, prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the percentage of the urban population living in slums in Iraq hovered just below 20 percent. Today, that percentage has risen to 53 percent: 11 million of the 19 million total urban dwellers. In the past decade, most countries have made progress toward reducing slum dwellers. But Iraq has gone rapidly and dangerously in the opposite direction. . . .

If the United States had an unemployment rate of 25-50 percent and 121 million people living in slums, riots would ensue, the military would take over, and democracy would evaporate. So why are people in the United States not concerned and saddened by the conditions in Iraq? Because most people in the United States do not know what happened in Iraq and what is happening there now. Our government, including the current administration, looks the other way and perpetuates the myth that life has improved in post-invasion Iraq. Our major news media reinforces this message."

The Wiz said...

Please post a quote where I said that Iraq is a paradise. I said nothing about current conditions but merely stated the obvious to anyone with a clue; that violence is going to increase now that we have pulled out "all combat troops."

And it will escalate again next year when all troops leave, unless the government agrees to an extension of the agreement. Which is likely as the leadership knows they will be killed without our protection for at least a few more years.

So for all those that have been screaming for us to pullout, I say you have baby's blood on your hands. You are all swimming in baby's blood!

Cervantes said...

The violence and government corruption and political gridlock are happening now, and have been happening the whole time, even though the U.S. has been occupying the country. Leaving won't make it happen, it's already happening. The babies are already dead.

The Wiz said...

And as to that squalor; Iraqis have millions of cell phones when before there were very few. The number of cars has exploded leading to fuel shortages and traffic jams on crowded roads. People have bought refrigerators and air conditioners by the hundreds of thousands, overloading the decrepit electrical system. Land prices have skyrocketed, the food markets and fairs are crowded with both shoppers and vendors. The streets are alive with music and the smell of good foods from the crowded restaurants. Computers and internet access are the norm now.

Iraq still has a long way to go but if you want to see where they headed, look at Kurdistan, which is a thriving enclave that has been under US protection for nearly two decades.

Anonymous said...

Obama changed the name, but not the sad, sick game.

Anonymous said...

I bet the wiz would not say such crap directly to a long term resident of Baghdad. They might try to kill him for such callous stupidity.