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


Thursday, October 21, 2010

War News for Thursday, October 21, 2010

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 20th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, October 21st.


Efforts to Prosecute Blackwater Are Collapsing -- (how shocking)

US-Saudi arms deal ripples from Iran to Israel

Pentagon plans $60 billion weapons sale to Saudi Arabia

Coalition Routs Taliban in Southern Afghanistan


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Two blasts rattled central Baghdad on Wednesday, without causing damage, the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) said. “Two explosive charges went off in Sheikh Omar and al-Jaaiefar regions in Baghdad, without causing damage,” the BOC said in a statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Nassiriyah:
#1: A bomb, planted in front of a school in northern Nassiriya, was defused Wednesday by security forces, chairman of the Thi-Qar council’s security committee said. “A joint force of national investigation and anti-explosives departments managed to defuse a bomb, planted near the school in northern Nassiriya,” Sajad al-Assadi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Tarmiya:
#1: Three persons, including a soldier, was wounded on Thursday in a bomb explosion in northern Baghdad, a police source said. “An improvised explosive device went off Thursday (Oct. 21) in al-Tarmiya region, northern Baghdad, targeting an army vehicle patrol, injuring a soldier and two passing civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Samarra:
#1: A Sahwa fighter was killed Thursday by an improvised explosive device blast in Samarra, a police source said. “The bomb exploded near him while he was heading for his work in al-Jubier neighborhood in eastern Samarra, killing him instantly,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Daquq:
#1: Police found the body of unknown man with bullet wounds in the town of Daquq, 200 km (125 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Armed men in a speeding car opened fire on and killed a district mayor in the centre of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Mosul:
#1: Two train drivers were wounded in a bomb blast in south of Mosul on Wednesday, a police source said. “An improvised explosive device went off Wednesday (Oct. 20) targeting a train’s coach in Hamam al-Aliel district, south of Mosul, injuring two drivers,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The bomb exploded while the first coach of the cargo train was passing, causing material damage to it,” he explained.

#2: Five persons, from the same family, were killed Wednesday by an armed group in eastern Mosul, a police source said. “The gunmen raided the house in al-Wehda neighborhood in eastern Mosul, killing two women, a 13-year-old girl and two men,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The father of the family is a soldier of the border guards and was killed in the attack,” he added, noting that police sealed off the whole region and started an investigation into the incident.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: In the western province of Herat on Wednesday, four Afghan police officers were killed and one injured when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in the Keshk-e-Kuhna district, the Interior Ministry said Thursday.

#2: Another policeman was killed in a suspected Taliban ambush in Herat's Ghoryan district Wednesday, the ministry said. One accused militant was killed and three others detained during the clash, it said.

Insurgents ambushed a group of Afghan border police in Ghorian district of Herat province, which borders Iran, on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said. One insurgent was killed during the ensuing battle and one policeman later died from injuries sustained during the attack, it said, adding that three of the insurgents had been detained.

#3: A roadside bomb killed six suspected militants and wounded three in the northwestern region of Kurram on the Afghan border, a government official said. Members of a rival militant group were believed to have planted the bomb


MoD: Acting Corporal David Barnsdale

DoD: Lance Cpl. Francisco R. Jackson

DoD: Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Cullins

Posted by whisker at 2:25 AM

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