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, August 31, 2011

War News for Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF Marine from an IED blast in the Sukmanda area of the Nahr-e Saraj (South) district, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 30. This was posted yesterday as this NATO release.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a roadside bombing attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, August 31st.


Maliki: US troops will leave Iraq on time


Reported security incidents

Diyala Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded three policemen when it went off in southern Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police said.

Five cops were injured in a bomb blast in the center of Baaquba, security sources said today. The source told Aswat al-Iraq that a bomb exploded in the main street of Baaquba city targeting a police patrol, which led to injuring five, including a captain.


Hilla:
#1: Police found the burnt bodies of a government employee and his wife inside their house on Monday in central Hilla, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad, a police source said. The source said an initial investigation showed they had been killed by a sharp weapon before being set alight



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: We're learning on this Wednesday that a Korean base in northern Afghanistan came under another rocket attack earlier this month, but no casualties were reported. An official at Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday that six rounds of rocket-propelled grenades were fired toward the base in Charikar, which houses Korea's Provincial Reconstruction Team, on August 15th. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack which is the 13th of its kind for this year alone.

#2: Eleven people were killed and 21 injured when a car bomb exploded Wednesday near a crowd of worshippers celebrating Eid al-Fitr in southwest Pakistan, police said. The attack occurred in the city of Quetta in Balochistan province, said Abdullah Afridi, a senior police official. The suicide bomber was trying to get farther into the crowd to cause maximum damage but was stopped by strict security measures, Afridi said. The car filled with explosives detonated prematurely, but still caused mayhem in the crowded area, Afridi said.







2 comments:

Dancewater said...

I sure hope the US forces leave Iraq on "time" since they should have never been there in the first place.

Anonymous said...

obama leaving iraq????



Jorge