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, September 1, 2010

War News for Wednesday, September 01, 2010

The French MoD is reporting the death of a French ISAF soldier in a vehicle accident in the Uzbeen valley, eastern Afghanistan on Monday, August 30th. Two additional soldiers were injured in the incident.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier during an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 31st.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier during an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, September 1st.


3 Oxfam workers killed in northeastern Afghanistan


Reported security incidents

Diyala Prv:
#1: A U.S. drone went down on Wednesday in a village northeast of Baaquba city, said a local security source. “The drone went down in al-Weesi village of the al-Miqdadiya district, 45 km northeast of Baaquba,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He explained that the drone was totally destroyed.

#2: A roadside bomb went off on Wednesday targeting the vehicle of a Kurdish official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the al-Saadiya district, wounding one of his guards, said a local security source stressing that Iraqi forces arrested the bombers. “The blast occurred at the major road of Hay al-Taakhi village,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He explained that the Kurdish official was not harmed, but his vehicle was devastated and his guard was wounded.


Mussayab:
#1: Two civilians were wounded Tuesday in a bomb blast in northern Babel, a police source said. “A bomb, stuck to a civilian car, went off in al-Khedr region in al-Musayab district, north of Hilla, injuring the driver and another civilian, and damaging the car,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Nassiriya:
#1: One U.S. army vehicle was damaged on Tuesday when a bomb exploded targeting a U.S. convoy in southern Nassiriya, according to the media spokesman of the U.S. army. “A logistic support convoy was attacked early Tuesday (Aug. 31) by a bomb blast on the highway between Thi-Qar and Basra in southern Nassiriya,” Major Alan Brown told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The explosion damaged one of the convoy’s vehicles,” he added, without giving further details.


Tikrit:
#1: Five policemen and one civilian were wounded on Wednesday when a roadside bomb went off near Tikrit city. “The blast targeted a police patrol near the Tikrit Bridge,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Pakistani government air raids have killed up to 45 militants, their family members and other civilians with no ties to the fighters, officials said on Wednesday. Three strikes on Tuesday night targeted Pakistani Taliban militants in one of their strongholds in the Tirah Valley in the northwestern Khyber region on the Afghan border. "We have reports that 40 to 45 terrorists were killed," a security official told Reuters. Taliban insurgents often deny official death tolls of militants. "Some of the families were living in the vicinity of these hideouts and they were also among the dead," said the security official. Rehan Khattak, a senior government official in Khyber, said six civilians, including women and children, were killed in one of the strikes and they had nothing to do with militants. "Four people were also wounded. They were members of Kokikhel," Khattak told Reuters, referring to a pro-government Pashtun tribe which dominates Khyber.

#2: A bomb attack Wednesday in Afghanistan's volatile southern city of Kandahar killed the director of the local office responsible for arranging pilgrimages to Islamic holy sites, police said. One other person was killed in the attack on Mohammad Hassan Taimuri and two people were wounded, Kandahar police Chief Sher Mohammed Zazai said. The bomb appeared to be a remote-controlled device concealed on a motorcycle which exploded Wednesday morning just as the director was leaving his office, according to witness Asad Jan Aghra.

#3: An official for religious affairs was killed by a bomb blast as he entered a government building in Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan, provincial police chief Sardar Mohammad Zazai said. Two people were wounded.

#4: Afghan and ISAF forces shot and killed one civilian and wounded another when the pair approached personnel who were conducting a medical evacuation in Marjah in the southern province of Helmand on Tuesday, ISAF said.

#5: Two women were killed when ISAF attacked a Taliban position with ground forces and air strikes after a patrol came under small-arms fire in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province on Tuesday, ISAF said. Two civilians were wounded and one insurgent was killed, ISAF said.

#6: Anti-government militants attacked a convoy of a private security company in Zabul province south of Afghanistan Monday night killing two guards and set on fire over a dozen vehicles, spokesman for provincial government Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar said Tuesday. "The Taliban rebels attacked the convoy of a security company in Shahr-e-Safa district Monday night killing two guards, wounding five and set ablaze 15 vehicles," Rasoulyar told Xinhua. However, he failed to identify the name of the company, saying it escorts logistic convoys of NATO-led troops in the province. He also said that all those killed and injured were Afghans.


DoD: Sgt. Patrick K. Durham

DoD: Spc. Andrew J. Castro

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mixed views on US withdrawal

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