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


Friday, August 12, 2011

War News for Friday, August 12, 2011

The French MoD is reporting the death of a French ISAF soldier from an IED attack seven k. south of Tagab, Kapisa province, Afghanistan on Thursday, August 11th. Four additional soldiers were wounded in the attack. Here's the ISAF release.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, August 11th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, August 12th.


US drones killed 168 children in Pakistan - America's covert drone war on Al-Qaeda and the Taliban has killed up to 168 children in Pakistan over the last seven years, according to an independent study released Thursday. The London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism said its research showed there had been many more CIA attacks on alleged militant targets, leading to far more deaths than previously reported. It said 291 CIA drone strikes had taken place in Pakistan since 2004, eight per cent more than previously reported, and that under President Barack Obama there had been 236 strikes -- one every four days. The Bureau said most of the 2,292 to 2,863 people reported to have died were low-ranking militants, but that only 126 fighters had been named. It said it had credible reports of at least 385 civilians and a possible upper limit of 775 civilians being killed. It said there were reports of at least 164 children being killed and possibly up to 168.

C.I.A. Is Disputed on Civilian Toll in Drone Strikes

US troops return to deadly Afghan valley in east


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A security source said today that three civilians were hit by a bomb blast in southwest Baghdad.

#2: A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol wounded two soldiers, late on Thursday, in Baghdad's southern Doura district, an Interior Ministry source said.

#3: Two bombs exploded in succession near a liquor store, and wounded four people, on Thursday, in the Karrada district of central Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.


Diyala Prv:
#1: Seven people were wounded in a bomb explosion at a popular marketplace in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala on Thursday, a provincial police source said. The bomb went off and injured seven people at a crowded marketplace in the city of Jalawlaa, some 130 km northeast of Baghdad, Lieutenant Colonel Ghalib al-Karkhi spokesman of Diyala provincial police told Xinhua.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Two bomb exploded in succession near the house of a police officer, killing three people and wounding 23 others, including three policemen, late on Thursday in central Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, a local police source said.

On the security level a source in Al Anbar Province Police Station said that 26 people were killed and wounded in a twin explosion that aimed the house of a police officier in the middle of Ramadi. The same source told Alsumarianews that a roadside bomb planted near the house of Lieutenant Hamid Al Duleimi member of Al Anbar police in Iskan neighborhood in Al Ramadi blasted killing two and wounding two other members of the family of the officer who was not home when the bomb exploded. To that, another bomb exploded when people crowded around the explosion location. Thus, two died and 20 other people including women and children were killed.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: An unknown number of gunmen attacked and killed three policemen transporting suspected militant prisoners to a hospital for medical examination in the northwestern city of Peshawar, officials said. The attackers escaped with two prisoners.

At least three policemen were killed and several others injured Friday morning when they were attacked by two unknown gunmen on their way back escorting prisoners for medical check in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan, reported local Urdu TV channel Duniya. According to the local media reports, the incident took place at about 11:00 a.m. local time Friday near a hospital at the University Road of the city when two unidentified gunmen opened fire at a group of police on their way back escorting two or three prisoners from medical check. Some local media reports said two policemen were killed and three others injured in the incident.


DOD Identifies Service Members Killed In CH-47 Crash

Lt. Cmdr. (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall

Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis J. Langlais

Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Kraig M. Vickers

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Brian R. Bill

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist/Diver) Nicholas H. Null

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Parachutist) Christopher G. Campbell

Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day

Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) John Douangdara

Cryptologist Technician (Collection) Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Strange

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist) Jon T. Tumilson

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Aaron C. Vaughn

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jason R. Workman

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jesse D. Pittman

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Nicholas P. Spehar

Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter

Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols

Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger

Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett

Spc. Spencer C. Duncan.

Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown

Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell

Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe

DoD: Cpl. Nicholas S. Ott


3 comments:

Dancewater said...

we bomb the world, we kill the children....


sure would like to see a list of the names of those 168 children listed... their lives were FAR, FAR, FAR MORE VALUABLE than any life lost by the US military in my eyes.

Dancewater said...

more valuable than the lives of any combatant who was killed in the history of the world, for that matter.

Sure wish the combatants (and their cheerleaders) would only kill each other. I would say 'HAVE AT IT' if that was true.

Dancewater said...

THE STINKING BASTARDS DON'T INTEND TO EVER LEAVE


Two RI National Guard units to deploy to Iraq
Aug 11, 2011

CRANSTON, R.I. -- Two National Guard units are being deployed to Iraq for a year. They will provide aviation support for combat and reconstruction operations, the National Guard said.

A joint departure ceremony for members of A Company, 1st Battalion 126th Aviation and D Company 126th Aviation will be held Friday at 9 a.m. at the Army Aviation Support Facility on Quonset Air National Guard Base.

It is the second deployment for each unit.

A Company, 1st Battalion 126th Aviation, which is equipped with UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters, deployed to Iraq from 2004 until 2005. The Rhode Island contingent will combine with soldiers from Puerto Rico and deploy from Fort Hood, Texas.

D Company, 126th Aviation (TAC), which is equipped with C-23 Sherpa airplanes, deployed to Iraq from 2005 until 2006. The Rhode Island soldiers will mobilize from Fort Benning, Ga., with soldiers from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Pennsylvania and Indiana. During this deployment the unit will become a part of Task Force Nomad as a theater operation company, responsible for the transportation of personnel and equipment.