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, March 30, 2011

War News for Wednesday, March 30, 2011

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from separate insurgent attacks in an undisclosed areas in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, March 29th.

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed areas in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, March 30th.


Afghan leader condemns US ‘kill team’

CIA Drones Damaging Pentagon Interests - (There's some interesting commentary here.)


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Dean of Faculty of Dentistry in Baghdad University was killed by a sticky bomb on Tuesday in western Baghdad, according to a security source. “Dr. Mohammad Hussein was killed on Tuesday (March 29) when a bomb, stuck to his car, went off in al-Mansour region, western Baghdad,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diyala Prv:
#1: In Diyala, two citizens were wounded when a bomb stuck to a bus exploded in western Baaquba, a police source told Alsumaria News.


Abu Ghraib:
#1: Unknown gunmen wearing military uniforms killed five Iraqi brothers including a policeman as they raided their house in Arkov region, in Abu Ghraib District.


Tikrit:
#1: At least nine city and provincial officials were among dozens killed in Iraq when armed militants took over a government building in Iraq and held hostages this week, Interior Ministry officials told CNN Wednesday. At least two journalists, including CNN contributor Sabah al-Bazi, were also among the dead when armed men assaulted and seized the building in Tikrit, in northern Iraq on Tuesday. At least 56 people died and 98 others were wounded in the attack, which ended after Iraqi forces launched a raid to take back the building and free the hostages. The armed militants, clad in police uniforms, clashed with the Iraqi police, and a suicide car bombing also was reported in the fighting in Tikrit, the capital of Salaheddin Province. Three provincial council members were among the dead, as were six city council members from the nearby town of Shirqat, officials said.

Gunmen wearing police uniforms and suicide vests stormed the provincial council office in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit on Tuesday and seized hostages in a brazen attack that left dozens of people dead, officials in Tikrit said. The assault turned into a hostage standoff that lasted for hours on Tuesday afternoon, until Iraqi security forces retook the building in the early evening. All of the gunmen and all of their hostages, who numbered about 30, were dead, according to officials in Tikrit. It was unclear how many American soldiers were wounded. A United States military spokesman said none of them required evacuation.


Mosul:
#1: A gunman has been shot dead and another injured, together with a soldier, in clashes east of Mosul on Tuesday, a Ninewa security source said on Wednesday. “A gunman has been killed and another was injured in exchange of fire with soldiers in an Army checkpoint in east Mosul’s Dargazaliya district,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He said that an Iraqi Army soldier was wounded in the clash, whilst the injured gunman was arrested and facing investigation at the headquarters of the Iraqi Army’s 2nd Division in Mosul.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A policeman was killed and four of his family was wounded in an armed attack in eastern Falluja, a security source said. “A policeman was killed and four of his family, including his wife and three of his children, were wounded when gunmen attacked his house in central al-Karma district, eastern Falluja,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The group opened fire on the house and threw a hand grenade, killing the cop and damaging the house,” he added.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Six people were killed and 10 wounded when a suicide bomber riding on a motorbike blew himself up near a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, police said. "The bomber came on a motorbike and detonated himself close to Ambar check post near Swabi town," local police chief Abdullah Jan said. He said the checkpoint was close to a camp set up by a religious political party for a public meeting in the town, located about 100 kilometres east of Peshawar. "Six people including one of our police officials were killed and 10 wounded," he said.

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