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, November 4, 2011

War News for Friday, November 04, 2011

The AP is reporting the death of a U.S. soldier while conducting military operations in an undisclosed area in northern Iraq on Thursday, November 3rd.


90,000 US soldiers medically unfit for combat: report

US cuts civilian funding to Pakistan, Afghanistan

US tightens drone rules: WS Journal


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A roadside bomb exploded near a restaurant in Baghdad's central Karrada district, killing two civilians in a car, police and hospital sources said. A second bomb exploded when police arrived at the scene, killing two policemen and wounding six others, the sources said. Baghdad's security operations centre said the two blasts killed one policeman and wounded four others.


Diyala Prv:
#1: update 35 people, mostly Al Sahwa militants, were killed and injured in two consecutive explosions south-western Baquba, a Diyala police source reported on Thursday. “10 people were killed and 25 other wounded this morning, mostly Al Sahwa militants, in a car explosion following a suicide belt explosion that targeted Al Sahwa militants who were gathering to receive their salaries in the headquarters of brigade 18 of Iraqi army in Umm Al Izam area, 10km southwest Baquba,” the source told Alsumarianews.

“5 people are killed and 14 other wounded, mostly Al Sahwa members, in a second explosion with a car bomb targeting the first explosion’s rescuers,” a Diyala police source had previously told Alsumarianews.


Basra:
#1: update The toll rose to 12 dead and at least 70 wounded in the explosion on Wednesday of three motorcycle bombs near cafes in the city of Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad, said Riyadh Abdul-Amir, head of the Basra health department.


Qaiyara:
#1: Gunmen stormed the home of a policeman and killed him in the town of Qaiyara, 290 km (180 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Mosul:
#1: A roadside bomb went off near a police patrol and wounded two civilians in central Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier from a small arms fire attack/gunshot wounds in the Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Thursday, November 3rd. Here's the ISAF release.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Afghan and coalition forces killed six insurgents and detained 14 in eastern Afghanistan during operations on Thursday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.


DoD: Staff Sgt. Ari R. Cullers

Posted by whisker at 4:28 AM

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)