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, July 9, 2011

War News for Saturday, July 09, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, July 9th. One ISAF civilian also died in the attack.


Night Raids Curbing Taliban, but Afghans Cite Civilian Toll


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Four casualties were reported by a bomb blast in Assyrian market south of Baghdad, security sources said here today. The source told Aswat al-Iraq that the bomb blasted near a police check point in Doura area, south of Baghdad, pointing out that four casualties were hurt.


Diyala Prv:
#1: An Iraqi civilian was wounded due to a bomb stuck to his car in western Baaquba, a police source from Diyala Province said

#2: An Iraqi security force disabled a bomb near the house of head of tribal salvation office, southwestern Baaquba.

#3: Separately, a civilian was wounded when gunmen opened fire on his home in a village in southwest of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, the source said.


Kut:
#1: Close sources to U.S. forces in Wasit province said today that the rockets directed to their military base west of Kut resulted in no harm for the Americans and Iraqis present there. The source told Aswat al-Iraq that the Delta military base was targeted yesterday night with three Katyusha rockets, which fell in adjacent areas.


Jurf al Sakhar:
#1: Gunmen in a speeding car killed two members of the government-backed Sunni Sahwa militia in Jurf al-Sakhar, 60 km (37 miles) south of Baghdad, according to the local police.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb went off on a main road in central Rutba city, some 375 km west of Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding two others, a local police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.




Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Militants in Pakistan's southwestern strife-torn province of Baluchistan have destroyed a gas pipeline, suspending supplies to a gas purification plant. Unknown militants strapped explosives to a pipeline in Loti area of the Bugti region and blew it up on Friday, a Press TV correspondent reported.

#2: A suicide bomber targeted the convoy of a provincial police chief in southern Afghanistan on Saturday morning, injuring 10 civilians but failing to harm the chief, an official said, dpa reported. The attack took place in Qalat, capital of Zabul province, the deputy governor's spokesman Mohammad Jan Rasolyar said. "Ten civilians were injured in the explosion," he said, adding that the attacker had intended to kill police chief Mohammad Nabi Elham, who escaped unharmed.

#3: A blast rocked Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of southern Afghanistan's Helmand province on Saturday morning, causing no loss of life. "An explosive device was placed near the police checkpoint in front of provincial police department in Lashkar Gah city and was detonated at around 07:15 a.m. (local time) but caused no causalities," spokesman for provincial administration, Daud Ahmadi told Xinhua. According to Ahmadi, no policeman or civilian were injured in the blast since the explosion took place before morning rush hour.

#4: Eighteen mortar shells fired from Afghanistan fell in Pakistan’s border area in North Waziristan Agency on Friday but no damage was caused, official and tribal sources said. Pakistani security forces retaliated by firing 29 mortar shells in the direction from where the mortar shells came from Afghanistan. There was no report of any human or material losses in the Afghan territory as a result of the action. Sources said shells fired from across the border have landed in the Pakistani territory twice in the past 24 hours. During the night, three shells were fired at the Bangidar area in Ghulam Khan Tehsil. About 10 hours later, around 15 shells apparently fired by US-led coalition forces and Afghan army targeted the Wai post manned by Pakistani security forces in Ghulam Khan. The shells landed near the post but did not cause any damage.


DoD: Sgt. Nicanor Amper IV

DoD: Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Dodds Dudley

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