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, October 14, 2011

War News for Friday, October 14, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, October 13th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, October 13th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, October 13th.


NATO wins in Afghanistan may be exaggerated: Report

Preparing for a Way Out of Afghanistan


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Bombs in Baghdad's mostly Shiite district of Sadr City killed 18 people. At least two roadside bombs detonated at around 8:30 pm (1730 GMT) on Thursday in the north Baghdad district's Al-Hay market, interior and defence ministry officials said. The two officials, who both spoke on condition of anonymity, said 18 people were killed in the explosions, and at least 43 wounded. Late Thursday, the officials said at least 12 people had died.

A roadside bomb exploded near a coffee shop followed by another bomb nearby, killing at least 16 people and wounding 40 others in Baghdad's northeastern Sadr City district late on Thursday, police and witnesses said.

#2: Two roadside bombs exploded in succession near a local market, killing two civilians and wounding seven others in Baghdad's Sadr City district late on Thursday, a local police source said.


Hilla:
#1: Guards for the head of Babil provincial council killed one gunman and wounded two others who were trying to rob a money exchange office in central Hilla, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad on Thursday, a local police source said. The council head's convoy was passing nearby and engaged the attackers who were using silenced weapons.


Diyala Prv:
#1: Six were wounded in a bomb blast in the center of Baaquba city, security sources said today. The source told Aswat al-Iraq that the bomb exploded in a main street.


Shirqat:
#1: Police killed a suspected al-Qaeda leader after a shootout in northern Shirqat, 300 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad, a source of Salahuddin province operations command said.

#2: A roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi army patrol, killing one soldier in western Shirqat, a source of Salahuddin province operations command said.


Al Anbar Pev:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted the car of a police officer, killing two passers-by and wounding five others in central Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, police and hospital sources said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: NATO and Afghan forces killed 13 insurgents in an overnight operation targeting local Taliban leaders in northern Afghanistan, officials said Friday. The joint raid by coalition and Afghan troops in northern Faryab province began late Thursday, said Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a spokesman for Afghan police in the north. One police officer was killed in the operation, he said.

#2: In eastern Kunar province, meanwhile, at least five artillery shells fired from the Pakistani side of the border landed in Dangam district early Friday, said provincial Police Chief Ewaz Naziri. There were no casualties.

#3: Afghan and coalition forces killed four insurgents and arrested one other in a joint operation in Logar province, south of the capital Kabul, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

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