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


Monday, November 15, 2010

War News for Monday, November 15, 2010

The British MoD is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED blast in the southern Nad 'Ali area, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Sunday, November 14th. Here's the ISAF statement.

The DoD is reporting a new death unreported by the military. Cpl. Shawn D. Fannin died from a non-combat related incident in Mazar-e Sharif, Balka province, Afghanistan on Friday, November 12th.

The Danish military is reporting the death of a Danish ISAF soldier from an IED attack somewhere east of gereshk, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Sunday, November 14th. Here's the ISAF statement.

NATO is reporting the deaths of three ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, November 13th.

NATO is reporting the deaths of three ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, November 14th.

NATO is reporting the deaths of an additional two more ISAF soldiers from the insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, November 14th.


British demand US data on 'nukes' in Iraq

U.S. Plan Offers Path to Ending Combat in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: In Baghdad, an Iraqi policeman was killed when a roadside bomb struck a patrol in downtown Baghdad

#2: four policemen were wounded when another roadside bomb detonated on Monday morning in eastern part of the capital, police and hospital officials said. Seven people were wounded in the two blasts.

#3: Two policemen were wounded Monday by a roadside bomb blast in Baghdad, according to a security source. “The bomb exploded in al-Mustansariya neighborhood in Baghdad, wounding two policemen,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, giving no more details.

#4: A hand grenade exploded this morning near al-Fardous intersection, central Baghdad, without leaving casualties,” he added.

#5: A sticky bomb attached to a car killed the driver, an embassy security guard, and wounded another passenger in Baghdad's west-central district of Mansour, on Sunday night, an Inte rior Ministry source said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Two gunmen were killed Monday while planting a bomb in southwest of Kirkuk, a senior police officer said. “Two gunmen were killed Monday (Nov. 15) when an explosive charge, they were planting, went off near al-Mura village in al-Rashad district, southwest of Kirkuk,” Brig. Sarhad Qader told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The two bodies were sent to the morgue,” he added.

#2: A police officer was wounded Monday in a bomb explosion in central Kirkuk, a source from the joint coordination center said. “The bomb exploded near a joint vehicle patrol of Kirkuk police and Asayesh forces in central Kirkuk, injuring an Asayesh lieutenant,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, without giving further details.


Mosul:
#1: A prison commander and his body guard were killed on Monday when twin car bombs detonated outside a residential complex housing prison guards and staff in northern Iraq, officials said. The Badoosh prison, on the outskirts of Mosul, holds convicted insurgents, al-Qaida militants and criminals from across Iraq. Although it was not immediately clear who was behind the blasts near the prison complex, the facility is known for a poor security record. Police and hospital officials in the northern city of Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad said the parked, explosives-laden vehicles went off as the commander of the Badoosh prison, Lt. Col. Hussein al-Jibouri, was heading to work on Monday morning. He was killed in the blast, along with one of his bodyguards. An Iraqi intelligence official in Mosul confirmed al-Jibouri died in the attacks that also wounded 16 people, including five bystanders.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Meanwhile, in town of Qaim on the Syrian border some 340 kilometres (210 miles) west of Baghdad, two people were killed and five others wounded by two roadside bombs, including one in a market, Lieutenant Ali Shaker of Anbar province's police said.

One civilian was killed and another one was wounded in a bomb blast in west of Anbar, a security source said on Monday. “The bomb exploded in Saada region in al-Qaem district, west of Anbar, killing a civilian and injuring another one,” he added.

#2: Four civilians were wounded Monday in a bomb blast in eastern Falluja, according to a security source. “The bomb went off near a police checkpoint in central al-Karma district, eastern Falluja, wounding four passing civilians, including a woman,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: In eastern Kunar province on Monday, an insurgent rocket struck inside a U.S. base near the provincial capital of Asadabad, sparking a blaze that destroyed six armored vehicles and an ambulance, NATO and Afghan officials said. The base came under attack from gunfire and rockets early in the morning and one rocket hit a fuel container, starting the fire, NATO said. There were no coalition injuries and the fire was contained by late morning. The six armored vehicles destroyed were Mine Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles known as MRAPS, which can cost as much as $1 million each.

#2: At least two NATO fuel trucks have been torched in Balochistan province in southwestern Pakistan, resulting in the death of the driver of one of the vehicles. The trucks were carrying fuel supplies for NATO vehicles in neighboring Afghanistan before they were set ablaze by gunmen on Sunday. One of the tankers was torched in the town of Khuzdar in Balochistan province, while the second was set on fire in the province's Bolan district. Unknown gunmen, mounted on a motorcycle, first told the truck driver to leave the vehicle before it was set on fire, a Press TV corresponded reported on Monday.

#3: Eight officers were killed in Afghanistan's Kunduz province when Taliban forces attacked a police post, a local official told CNN. Hamdullah Danishi, deputy governor of Kunduz province, said the police officers were killed in the Qalai Zal district. Seven of the eight officers were "Arbaki," members of a local pro-government tribal militia, he said.


DoD: Senior Airman Andrew S. Bubacz

DoD: Cpl. Shawn D. Fannin

0 comments: