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, February 9, 2011

War News for Wednesday, February 09, 2011

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, February 9th.


US customs officer killed in Afghan blast - David Hillman

UNHCR, WHO ink healthcare services agreement for Afghan refugees


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: "An IED blew up in central Baghad's Waziriya district, wounding two civilians that were driven to a nearby hospital," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: He said that another IED went off in eastern Baghdad's Jamila district, wounding two other civilians, who were also driven to a nearby hospital, giving no further details.

A bomb wounded six people in Jamila in eastern Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Car bombs ripped through the oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, killing seven and wounding up to 80 people in the heart of a region of long-simmering ethnic tensions. Three blasts struck outside the headquarters of the Kurdish intelligence forces known as the Asayish, on a highway and near a gas station in southern Kirkuk, located 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Qadir said the bomb along the highway targeted a police patrol led by a top commander, Col. Ahmed Shamerani, but he was not hurt in the blast. But two policemen were among the dead, while five police and eight Asayish officials were wounded.

#2: Security forces found a body of a kidnapped person, who had been kidnapped yesterday in central Kirkuk, a source from the joint coordination center said on Tuesday.


Mosul:
#1: Two civilians were wounded on Tuesday in two explosions in west of Mosul, according to a security source. "Two explosive charges went off consecutively on Tuesday targeting a police vehicle patrol in al-Shefaa neighborhood, west of Mosul, injuring two civilians," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "One of the wounded is in critical condition," he added.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A South Korean base in the city of Charika, Afghanistan came under attack on Tuesday night, local time, after a visit by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday that five rocket propelled grenades were fired at the newly built military base in Parwan province at around 7:30 p.m. The military said three fell inside the base while two others landed outside, but there were no casualties or damage and Defense Minister Kim had already left before the attack occured.


DoD: Lance Cpl. Aaron M. Swanson

Posted by whisker at 2:42 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)