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


Tuesday, October 4, 2011

War News for Tuesday, October 04, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-hostile related incident in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, October 3rd.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, October 4th.


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi police patrol, killing one civilian and wounding three others in Baghdad's western Ghazaliya district, a police source said.

#2: A roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi police patrol, wounding three civilians in Baghdad's western Amiriya district, a police source said.

#3: Security sources said today that an intelligence official was killed following an armed attack against him west of the capital, Baghdad. The source told Aswat al-Iraq that the assassins crossed his road and shot him dead.

#4: A car bomb in a village north of Baghdad wounded seven, including 3 soldiers, security sources said today. The source told Aswat al-Iraq that the car was parked on the side of the road. It detonated at the same time that a military convoy was passing.


Diyala Prv:
#1: Gunmen opened fire at a Kurdish security force, killing two members and wounding five others, in Khanaqin, 140 km (100 miles) northeast of Baghdad, a local police source said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Director of Anti-crime department was killed today by unknown gunmen south of the city, Kirkuk police sources said. General Sarhat Qadir told Aswat al-Iraq that unknown gunmen fired against Anti-crime department director at Daqouq area.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Suspected Sunni extremists executed 12 Shiite Muslims after ordering them off a bus and lining them up Tuesday in southwestern Pakistan, ramping up a campaign of sectarian violence that has exposed Islamabad's inability to protect minorities. The gunmen who attacked Tuesday were riding on motorbikes and stopped a bus carrying mostly Shiite Muslims who were headed to work at a vegetable market on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, said police official Hamid Shakeel. The attackers forced the people off the bus, made them stand in a line and then opened fire, said Shakeel. The dead included 12 Shiites and one Sunni, he said. Seven people were wounded - five Shiites and two Sunnis.

#2: TWO Australian soldiers have been wounded in action in separate falls down embankments while participating in patrols in Afghanistan. Defence says one soldier has returned to restricted duties following the fall during a patrol on September 27. The second soldier fell on September 28 and remains in the medical facility at the Australian base at Daring Kowt.

#3: A truck carrying fuel for NATO forces was set ablaze Tuesday by suspected militants near Quetta, police said. The truck was on its way to NATO forces in Afghanistan when unknown assailants ambushed it and set it on fire near Quetta, said police official Muhammad Khalil.

#4: Afghan and NATO-led coalition forces killed 13 insurgents and arrested 15 others in operations in four provinces over the past 24 hours, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

#5: At least six people were killed and many others injured on Tuesday morning when unknown gunmen opened fire at a vehicle in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan, local media reported.

1 comments:

Dancewater said...

Iraq: thousands flee shelling in northern border areas
04-10-2011 News Release 11/206

Erbil (ICRC) – Some 600 people internally displaced in northern Iraq received humanitarian assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) yesterday.

They are among thousands who have had to leave their homes owing to the shelling that has been taking place in the area over the past three months.

"The food and hygiene items provided are intended to cover their needs for a month," said BĂ©atrice Oechsli, head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Erbil. "The ICRC will continue to closely monitor the situation, and stands ready to provide further assistance if needed."

The displaced people, from seven villages in the Kurdistan region, have arrived in Bozan (Soran district) over the past few weeks. Having left most of their belongings behind, they are now living under tents, with limited access to drinking water and no electricity.

The ICRC has provided humanitarian assistance for more than 2,500 people driven from their homes since the shelling began in July.