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


Tuesday, November 16, 2010

War News for Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by the military. Spc. David C. Lutes died in Landstuhl, Germany on Thursday, November 11th. He was wounded from an IED blast somewhere in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan on Monday, November 8th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an unreported location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, November 16th.


Despite Gains, Night Raids Split U.S. and Karzai


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: An employee of Iraqi intelligence was killed and a police officer was wounded by gunmen in western Baghdad, according to a security source. “Unknown gunmen opened fire on a vehicle belongs to Iraqi intelligence in al-Jameaa neighborhood, western Baghdad, killing the driver and injuring a police captain,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Samarra:
#1: Gunmen shot and seriously wounded the deputy commander of a government-backed Sunni militia in Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Mosul:
#1: In Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, two Christian men were sitting in their living room when gunmen broke into the house Monday night and shot them, a police officer in the northern city said.

#2: Another house belonging to a Christian family in a different neighborhood of eastern Mosul was also bombed overnight. A police officer said that attack wounded a bystander. A doctor in Mosul confirmed the death toll.

#3: Unknown gunmen blew up the house of the director of the National Security in central Mosul, a security source said on Tuesday. “Unidentified gunmen blew up the house of Colonel Aamer Faisal Tarfa, director of the National Security in Ninewa, in al-Dawasa region, central Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The armed men put two bombs inside the house and detonated them, causing severe material damage to it,” he added.

#4: A roadside bomb went off in eastern Mosul, wounding two civilians, the police said.



Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A policeman was killed on Monday by a sticky bomb in west of Anbar, a police source said. “A bomb, stuck to a policeman’s vehicle, went off near al-Ratba bridge in al-Qaem district, west of Anbar, killing him instantly and damaging the vehicle,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Suspected American missiles slammed into a home and a speeding vehicle near the Afghan border Tuesday. At least four missiles were fired before dawn Tuesday in North Waziristan's Bangi Dar village, two at the mud-brick house and two at the vehicle, two Pakistani intelligence officials said. Four of the slain were in the vehicle, while at least 11 died in the flattened home. The identity of the dead was not known, and agents were trying to get more details, said the officials. A different pair of security officials closer to the scene said later that at least 20 were killed. All spoke on condition of anonymity in line with official policy.

#2: A bomb in a graveyard in northern Afghanistan killed a parliamentary candidate and a retired policeman and wounded five, including a mayor, on Tuesday, an intelligence official said. The attack happened in the Khan Abad district of northern Kunduz province as the men prayed inside the graveyard to mark the start of the Muslim Eid al Adha holiday, provincial intelligence chief Abdul Rahman Aqtash said. Mohammad Islam Mujahid, a candidate from Kunduz in Afghanistan's September parliamentary election, and Haji Bismillah, a retired police official, were killed in the attack, Aqtash said. Bismillah was the brother of the mayor of Kunduz city. The mayor, who had been praying with the other men, was wounded along with four civilians, Aqtash said, adding the bomb had been placed near the grave before the men had arrived.

#3: Helicopter gunships targeted Taliban positions in the northwestern region of Mohmand on the Afghan border, killing six militants and wounding 19, security officials in the region said. There was no independent verification of the death toll. Militants often reject official figures.

#4: A suicide bomber targeting a tribal elder in Afghanistan's southern Uruzgan province Tuesday left the elder dead and injured five others, deputy to provincial police chief Gulab Khan said. "A suicide bomber strapping explosive vest in his body made his way to enter the house of a tribal elder Mohammad Saddiq this morning at around 11:30 local time and blew his explosive up killing Saddiq and injuring five of his guests," Khan told Xinhua. He said the bomber was also killed in the blast which took place in provincial capital Tirin Kot.


MoD: Ranger Aaron McCormick

DoD: Sgt. Edward H. Bolen

DoD: Spc. Shannon Chihuahua

DoD: Spc. David C. Lutes

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