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


Thursday, September 29, 2011

News of the Day for Thursday, September 29, 2011

Whisker is still indisposed, just a quick update today. -- C

Reported Security Incidents

Kirkuk

Suicide car bombing at a bank where police were receiving their pay kills 2, injures up to 60. The dead are 1 policeman and 1 civilian; most of the wounded are police. DPA gives the death toll as 3.

Not clear if this is an early, incomplete version of the above incident or a different one: Twelve people injured in a boob-trapped car explosion near Kirkuk hospital.

Zab Township, southwest of Kirkuk

Iraq army officer and his bodyguard are killed, 3 other soldiers injured in a roadside bombing.

Baghdad

Police officer is killed by a gunman on a motorbike. Also, an employee of the government TV channel dies of wounds suffered in a shooting on Wednesday.

Police officer killed and another injured in an attack on an Interior Ministry vehicle northeast of Baghdad.

Afghanistan Update

ISAF announces 3 troops killed in a bombing in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday; two others dead in two separate incidents. As usual, no details as of yet. AFP also reports two Afghan policewomen and a civilian killed by a roadside bomb on their way to work at Herat airport. TOLO clarifies that one of the separate incidents yesterday was the New Zealand soldier previously reported; the other a non-combat incident.

UN reports violence in Afghanistan up 40% over last year, contradicting claims by U.S. military leaders that violence has declined:

The U.N. report, information for which is compiled by the U.N. mission here and submitted to the Security Council quarterly, said that as of the end of August, there had been an average of 2,108 "security incidents" each month this year, a 39 percent increase compared with the same period in 2010. . . .

A report from the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force in August painted a sharply different situation. "Throughout 2011 ISAF has seen significant security improvements throughout Afghanistan and violence is down in 12 of the past 16 weeks as compared to the same period in 2010," the coalition's report said. There was no comment from coalition spokesmen on the U.N. report.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

My husband has the misfortune of being stationed near kirkuk. Was wondering if you can find out any details about the mortar attack on FOB warrior. It happened early morning (kirkuk time) thursday 9/29. I read your blog daily , just to keep abreast of the activity of the day. There's a lot more happening than ever gets reported, however. I appreciate your effort and diligence in gathering all of your info. Sometimes it's all I can find to reassure myself that he & his guys are safe. I can tell you, they really wish they could just get home...that the people's struggles are so long embedded in their history...that we arent the ones that can change it.

Cervantes said...

The military doesn't usually make any announcement or otherwise acknowledge non-fatal attacks. Sometimes Aswat al-Iraq will have a bit of info on indirect fire attacks on U.S. bases but I can't find anything about this one. You're right, there's a lot more happening than gets reported.

However, you can take heart that FOB Warrior is located inside Kirkuk airbase which has a wide security perimeter. Any attackers have no way of directing accurate fire at the base. Rockets do fall basically harmlessly on U.S. bases pretty often, I think, but seldom do any serious damage.

Presumably he'll be home by the end of the year, although the contingent near Kirkuk is the one the generals want to keep. So far the Iraqis have not agreed to that.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your response. They are route clearance, so they go outside the wire daily. They do get mortared daily. We were on skype when he had to quickly get off...all I heard is that it affected living quarters. Havent heard anything since. Obviously he was ok..just dont know about his guys. I have a feeling its not good....no more internet. Never a good sign!

whisker said...

The U.S. military says an American solider has been killed in northern Iraq by indirect fire as he was preparing to go out on an operation.

A statement released by U.S. forces in Iraq said the soldier was killed Thursday, but gave no other details. The soldier was not identified, pending notification of next of kin.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/09/29/general-ml-iraq_8708055.html