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


Saturday, February 19, 2011

War News for Saturday, February 19, 2011

The DoD is reporting a new death unreported by the military. Airman 1st Class Corey C. Owens died from a non-combat related incident at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq on Thursday, February 17th.

The DoD is reporting another new death previously unreported by the military. Airman 1st Class Christoffer P. Johnson died from a non-combat related incident somewhere in Southwest Asia on Thursday, February 17th.

Nato is reporting another two deaths in two released from the same attack which killed a German soldier from an apparent ANA insurgent attack attack in the Pul-e Khumri district, Baghlan province, Afghanistan on Friday, February 18th. Here's the German military release.


US in direct talks with Taliban


Reported security incidents

Diyala Prv:
#1: An attack damaged a disused oil pipeline, in Diyala province, north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, oil production official Saqban al-Tamimi said on Saturday. "An explosive device damaged an oil pipeline near the village of Dinaya on Thursday at 4 am (0100 GMT)," Tamimi told AFP, adding that the pipeline linking the Naft Khana field to the Dora refinery in south Baghdad had been closed since 2003.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: At least three civilians have been injured in an improvised explosive charge (IED) blast on Saturday in West Iraq's Anbar Province's city of Falluja, a security source said. "An IED, stuck to a civilian's car in central Falluja, has blown up wounding three civilians, who were driven to hospital," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Eight people have been killed and 56 wounded in an attack claimed by the Taliban on a bank in Jalalabad, eastern Afghanistan, a hospital official told AFP. Saifullah Khan Ebrahimkhil, the chief of the main hospital in the city, said the casualties included police who it is thought may have been collecting their salaries at the bank. "In total there are 56 injured and eight dead. Most of the injured and dead are hit by AK-47 rounds," Ebrahimkhil said.

#2: Pakistani Taliban confirmed Saturday that they have killed a former intelligence officer, who was held hostage last year in the North Waziristan tribal region, local TV channels reported. Colonel Imam, a former officer of the army agency Inter- Services Intelligence (ISI), was abducted along with three others on March 2010 when they were en route to North Waziristan tribal region. According to the reports, the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan said they will soon release a video to prove the death of Colonel Imam.


DoD: Airman 1st Class Corey C. Owens

DoD: Spc. Jonathan A. Pilgeram

DoD: Sgt. Matthew J. Deyoung

DoD: Airman 1st Class Christoffer P. Johnson

14 comments:

Dancewater said...

anyone notice how the drone bombings in Pakistan stopped with the arrest of Raymond Davis?

Dancewater said...

Video: Iraqi Teenager Killed during protest

Video shows how the guards of Barzani's party opened fire and killed Rijwan Ali, a young Iraqi protester, in Sulaymaniyah yesterday.

Dancewater said...

Some pretty big protests in Pakistan against Davis.

Dancewater said...

As Iraqi Demonstrations Continue, Protestors are Killed and A Governor Flees

On Thursday nine Iraqis were killed and 47 injured at a protest against corruption and unemployment in Sulaimaniyah, a Kurdish city.

Earlier this week Latif Hamad al-Turfa, the governor of Kut, a city south of Baghdad, fled his office to police headquarters as 3,000 protesters stormed his building. Police then opened fire on the demonstrators, killing one and injuring 50.

Dancewater said...

Residents of Razed Afghan Village Dispute US Case for Destruction


KABUL/WASHINGTON – The commander of U.S.-NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. James Terry, asserted last month that the homes systematically destroyed by U.S. forces across three districts of Kandahar province as part of Operation Dragon Strike in October and November "were abandoned, empty and wired with ingenious arrays of bombs".

But in interviews with IPS at the site of the destroyed village of Tarok Kalache, now nothing more than a dusty plain surrounded by orchards, former residents disputed that account of the circumstances surrounding the destruction of their village.

The residents said that they don’t believe most of their homes had been booby-trapped by the Taliban and that, even after they had evacuated their homes, farmers from the village had continued to tend their properties in and around the village right up to the time the destruction began.

Dancewater said...

Iraq Orphans Join Mideast Uprisings on Saturday, Demand Rights

Dancewater said...

Iraq protests map

Dancewater said...

Their demands, listed in a letter to the Governor and council in Kirkuk:

To ensure communication and building a democratic society you raise the demands of our people:
1. The provision of the ration card items and improve the quality of that is distributed monthly.
2. Attention to the provision of essential services like water, electricity, gasoline and paving the streets
3. Provide health insurance to citizens, especially children and adults age
4. Activation of the oversight role of civil medical clinics Rates
5. Building factories and laboratories in order to eliminate unemployment
6. Promote the idea of small projects for young men and women and give the grant money from the petro-dollar.
7. Development of agricultural policy and the promotion and expansion of the agricultural sector and to give loans to farmers and their training on Alasalbeb and modern methods.
8. Increase the proportion of women in decision-making positions to eliminate corruption.
9. Provide the salaries of social welfare and interest of the poor.
10. Recruitment and the inauguration of positions on merit and competence.
11. Activating the role of the Integrity Commission to hold accountable the corrupt and the corrupt in conservative circles
12. Guarantee freedom of opinion and expression and peaceful demonstration.

“People want the rights of citizens” “People want to implement promises” and “the people want to stop corruption” and “the people want activation of the judiciary”

Dancewater said...

FOUR AND A HALF MILLION ORPHANS IN IRAQ THANKS TO THE USA'S DEMOCRACY BUILDING EFFORTS!

Report by Reuters at my blog.

Dancewater said...

Two peaceful protesters killed in Iraq in the last few days.


Just another price to pay for the democracy of death.

And in Sulaymaniyah, students protested but journalists were not allowed in to film it. So much for the freedom of the press.....

Dancewater said...

UNBELIEVABLY EVIL AND STUPID:

"In March 2010 Secretary of "Defense" Robert Gates complained that "the general [European] public and the political class" are so opposed to war they are an "impediment" to peace."

AND NO SURPRISE HERE:

Associated Press Featured Article
February 19, 2011
Gates: US has 'interest' in keeping troops in Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a House committee Wednesday that the Obama administration is interested in having more military personnel in Iraq after 2011 than the roughly 150 who are currently scheduled to remain.

izmir çetesi said...

thanks

Dancewater said...

In light of Egypt’s mostly nonviolent revolution, Iraq presents a sobering reality. Where does Iraq stand today, after nearly 8 years of a United States-led war justified, in part, by claims of “bringing democracy to the Middle East”?
Iraq Is Flying

Jamal Penjweny, "Iraq is Flying" series

While some had hoped prior to the 2003 American invasion that Iraq would become a model of democracy in the Middle East, the war has left a country defined by devastation rather than democracy. A look at the recent histories of Iraq and Egypt is illuminating.

In Iraq, the 24-year rule of a dictator was brought to an abrupt end in 2003 when the U.S. invaded. Shortly thereafter, a new constitution and national elections signaled a more open political future for Iraq. But death, destruction, massive displacement, lack of access to basic needs such as clean water and electricity, the ongoing U.S. presence, political deadlock, and the persistent lack of security have left Iraq’s future deeply uncertain. Democracy in Iraq is tenuous and overshadowed by the devastation of war.

In Egypt, the 30-year rule of a dictator was brought to an abrupt end in 2011 when a massive, popular revolution forced him out. This was a popular revolution driven by Egyptian nonviolence, not American violence. It was contagious, growing into a massive movement able to topple an entrenched, U.S.-backed leader wielding a powerful security sector. The revolution has shaken every theory of democratization and political reform in the Middle East. While Egypt’s future is also highly uncertain, it is filled with optimism and hope for a better life. The people, not an outside power, have brought democracy.

More here

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