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, June 1, 2011

War News for Wednesday, June 01, 2011

NATO is reporting the deaths of three U.S. ISAF soldiers from an IED attack in an undisclosed area in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, May 29th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed area in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, May 31st. This is being reported as a Czech soldier.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed area in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, June 1st.


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A booby-trapped car parked near al-Sa'ah Restaurant in Baghdad' s western neighborhood of Mansour, went off at about 8:30 (0530 GMT) near the convoy of Abdul-Kareem Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Iraq Ministry of Human Rights, wounding two passers-by, the source said on condition of anonymity. Abdullah escaped unharmed the powerful blast which caused severe damages to nearby buildings and shops, the source said.

#2: In a separate incident, seven people were wounded when a roadside bomb went off in al-Nidhal Street in Baghdad's central district of Karrada, the source said.


Kut:
#1: A U.S. minesweeper has been damaged by an explosive charge that blew up against an American Army patrol in southern Iraq’s Nu’maniya township in Wassit Province on Wednesday, a Wassit police source said. “A U.S. Army’s minesweeper was set on fire and damaged, when an explosive charge blew up against an American Army patrol that was passing through Nu’maniya township, 40 km to the north of Kut on Wednesday,” the police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. There have not yet been any reports on any casualties, the source noted. He said the U.S. forces had beaten a number of police officers, who were at the venue of the blast when it took place, giving no further details.


Tikrit:
#1: Three brothers have been killed by unknown soldiers in north-central Iraq’s Province of Salahal-Din on Tuesday, according to a province’s police source. “Four armed men, using a civilian car, have attacked three brothers, working in a wheat field at Albu-Suleiby village of Al-Dhiloiya township, 92 km to the south of Tikrit, the center of Salahal-Din Province, killing the on the spot,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He said the three brothers have been members of the pro-government al-Sahwa (Awakening) Forces and had fought al-Qaeda organization over the past few years.=



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A hand grenade killed one civilian and wounded six others in Kabul's west, the city's police chief said in a statement. It was not clear who threw the grenade or what the target was, the statement said.

#2: At least eight people including seven security Personnel and one woman were killed in a checkpoint attack launched Wednesday morning by militants in the Upper Dir district. According to the media reports, the attack took place in Shaltalo town, when a group of militants from Afghanistan tried to enter Pakistan through the Upper Dir district which borders Afghanistan. Over 200 militants stormed in the Checkpoint, leaving 7 Security Personnel dead. A Passerby woman was also died due to firing of militants. In retaliation, the security forces fired back at the militants by gunship helicopters. The firing between the militants and the security forces lasted for many hours.

#3: Militants in northwest Pakistan have torched at least seven oil tankers carrying fuel for US-led foreign troops in Afghanistan, Pakistani authorities say. Pakistani authorities say that the trucks went up in flames after a bomb was detonated at a parking lot in Khyber Agency later on Tuesday, a Press TV correspondent reported.

#4: Earlier in the day, unknown militants destroyed three NATO oil tankers in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province.

#5: Explosion rocked the capital of south Afghan province Ghazni on Wednesday afternoon, a local official told Xinhua. A signal tower of Roshan company, a local mobile phone service supplier, was bombed. Xinhua reporter near the explosion site in Ghazni, the capital city, some 125 km south of Afghan capital Kabul, witnessed the explosion at around 2 p.m. Wednesday.


DoD: Lance Cpl. Peter J. Clore

DoD: Pfc. Anthony M. Nunn

Posted by whisker at 2:55 AM

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