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, December 2, 2011

War News for Friday, December 02, 2011

Senate approves $662 billion defense bill

Ceremony marks end of US warfare in Iraq - Make sure that your stomach is empty before reading this bunch of BS. – whisker

Pakistan planes would have engaged NATO in attack

Dipton soldier killed in armoured vehicle missing spare part


Reported security incidents

Diyala Prv:
#1: update Gunmen using silenced weapons stormed three houses of Sahwa militiamen, killing eight members of two families and wounding five members of a third family in Buhriz, about 60 km (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police and hospital sources said.


Hilla:
#1: A roadside bomb targeting departing U.S troops blew up and killed a civilian on the southern outskirts of Hilla, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad, two police sources said.


Hashimiya: (?)
#1: Police said they found the bodies of two men who had been handcuffed, burned and shot in Hashimiya, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad.


Taji:
#1: Seven policemen were wounded when one of three roadside bombs they were trying to defuse went off in Taji, 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#2: Iraq's minister of environment escaped an assassination attempt by a roadside bomb that blew up when his convoy was passing. It wounded four people including one of the minister's guards in Taji, police said.


Tuz Khurmato:
#1: One policeman was killed and five wounded, including four policemen in two roadside bombs in Tuz Khurmato, 170 km (105 miles) north of Baghdad, a local police source said.


Shirqat:
#1: Gunmen attacked a check point manned by government backed Sunni militia's fighters of Sahwa killing three fighters and wounding two late on Thursday in Shirqat, 300 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad, a local police source said.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Police said they found the beheaded body of Sheikh Thalaj Zaalan on the western outskirts of Haditha, 190 km (120 miles) northwest of Baghdad.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A powerful suicide truck bomb exploded near the entrance to a NATO base on Friday, injuring as many as 70 people, mainly civilians, south of the Afghan capital Kabul, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in Muhammad Agha district of Logar province which took place at around 8:00am (0330 GMT) Friday. "The suicide attacker wanted to ram his explosive-laden vehicle into the coalition forces base but he was stopped at the gate and detonated the truck outside the base," he said. He put the provisional toll of those injured at five -- three police and two NDS (Afghan intelligence) personnel --adding that some houses had been destroyed by the blast. A spokesman for NATO's US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed a car bombing in the district but said they were still "gathering information". He could not confirm that ISAF was the target or the number of casualties.

#2: Unidentified miscreants detonated an improvised explosive devise (IED) with a remote control outside District Coordination Officer's (DCO) office on Thursday, however, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. A wall of the office building collapsed after the blast, which was heard throughout Peshawar, the last major city on the route to Afghanistan. According to police, the explosion damaged the outer wall of the office located at Bacha Khan Chowk on Charsadda Road. The windowpanes of the building were smashed and the blast was heard throughout Peshawar. The police cordoned off the area and started a search operation. Police was already put on high alert due to Muharram. According to the Bomb Disposal Squad, it was a locally manufactured time device and was meant to create terror among the residents.

#3: Five people including three civilians were injured in a bomb blast in Dehrawad district in Uruzgan province 370 km south of Afghan capital city Kabul on Friday, police said. "The blast happened at 10:30 a.m. local time in a cattle bazaar of Dehrawad district today as a result five people including three civilians and two local police were injured," police spokesman in Trinkot city Mohammad Farid Aael told Xinhua. "It appeared to be a remote-controlled bomb blast"he said, adding that investigation is underway to identify the exact reason for the blast and those behind the subversive activities.


DoD: Staff Sgt. Vincent J. Bell

5 comments:

Cervantes said...

What Tom Englehardt says.

Dancewater said...

photo caption:

Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, seen in posters, demonstrate against the visit of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. Biden said Wednesday that his trip to Baghdad ahead of the U.S. military pullout marks a new beginning between Iraq and the United States, but already protests in Iraq against his visit are demonstrating the difficulties the relationship will face. The banner in Arabic reads: ' Condemn the visit of American vice president of evil.'
(AP Photo/ Karim Kadim)

Dancewater said...

another one:

Followers of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demonstrate against the visit of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Basra, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. Biden said Wednesday that his trip to Baghdad ahead of the U.S. military pullout marks a new beginning between Iraq and the United States, but already protests in Iraq against his visit are demonstrating the difficulties the relationship will face. The banners in Arabic read: 'Demanding Iraqi Government kicks Joe Biden out of Iraq' and 'If America alleges to control the world, it can not control the hearts of the believers' and 'Yes, yes for unity.'
(AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)

Dancewater said...

some photos of a recent art show in Iraq - really shows what Iraqis think of the USA:


Link to photos

Anonymous said...

IRAQ - became the university of terrorism
and yes, US is fleeing

Vote for obamination to keep the meltdown