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


Saturday, April 14, 2012

War News for Saturday, April 014, 2012

Turkish air raids kill 35 on Iraq border


Reported security incidents
#1: Fourteen Taliban militants have been killed and 34 others injured during clean-up operations within the past 24 hours, the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Saturday. "Afghan police and army, backed by NATO-led coalition forces, launched nine clean-up operations in Nangarhar, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Kandahar, Ghazni, Wardak, Khost and Paktia provinces, killing 14 armed Taliban insurgents and injuring 34 others over the past 24 hours," China's Xinhua news agency quoted the ministry as saying in a statement.

#2: In a separate development, a district chief was seriously injured when a roadside bomb went off in the northwestern province of Badghis, a spokesman for the provincial government said. "Bala Murghab administration chief Mohammad Hashim Habibi and four of his guards were seriously injured when their vehicle ran over a roadside bomb along a road in the district late on Friday," spokesman Sharafuddin Majidi told Xinhua on Saturday.

#3: According to local security authorities in eastern Nuristan province, an extensive operation has been launched and is in progress by Afghan security forces in this province. The officials further added, the operation was launched in Kamdish district of eastern Nuristan province last Wednesday to clear the area from the presence of Taliban militants. Mohammad Zarin Head of the provincial governor media office said, around 400 Afghan security forces including Afghan police, Afghan army and Afghan commandos have participated in the operation and are also being supported by NATO air force. Mr. Zarin further added, at least 5 villages have been cleared from the presence of Taliban militants so far and this is the first major operation launched by Afghan security forces in this district. According to Mohammad Zarin at least 29 Taliban militants have been killed and 30 others have been injured during the military operations so far. He also said, at least 1 Afghan army soldier was killed and 3 Afghan police forces were injured during the operations who were taken to capital Kabul for treatment purposes. At least 1 Afghan woman was killed and another was injured during the operations, Mohammad Zarin said.

#4: According to local security officials in eastern Ghazni province, a NATO drone crashed in this province on Friday night. Provincial intelligence, National Directorate for security chief Syed Amirshah Sadat said, the drone crashed in eastern Ghazni city on Friday night due to technical problems.

#5: According to local officials in southern Helmand province, at least 11 people were injured following a explosion in this province. The officials further added the incident took place on Friday morning at Sangin district after a motorcycle packed with explosives went off in a market.


DoD: Spc. Philip C. S. Schiller

DoD: Lance Cpl. Abraham Tarwoe

2 comments:

Dancewater said...

Afghan people march for justice for women

Young Afghans braved fears of violence to join a rare march on parliament to demand justice for the women who have been killed, beaten and abused this year – including one they said was beheaded by her own husband.

No politicians came out to meet them, underlining the group's claim that officials are not serious about tackling the suffering of women, despite a law that aims to end the abuse.

"In the last weeks we have had a lot of cases of violence against women," said 19 year-old student Kamila Ataee. "Just the women are dead, and the men who killed them are alive. We should raise our voices so everyone knows about it."

Around 30 young men and women joined the march, although organisers from Young Women for Change said they had expected a turnout of around 200. Several demonstrators said friends had been ordered to stay home or were afraid to come.

Dancewater said...

Afghan war whistle blower Davis says he had to speak out

The career soldier is now a black sheep at the giant defence department building where he still works. The reason was his extraordinarily brave decision to accuse America's military top brass of lying about the war in Afghanistan. When he went public in the New York Times, he was acclaimed as a hero for speaking out about a war that many Americans feel has gone horribly awry. Later this month he will receive a Ridenhour prize, an award given to whistleblowers that is named after the Vietnam war soldier who exposed the My Lai massacre.

Davis believes people are not being told the truth and said so in a detailed report that he wrote after returning from his second tour of duty in the country. He had been rocketed, mortared and had stepped on an improvised explosive device that failed to explode. Soldiers he had met were killed and he was certain that a bloody disaster was unfolding. So he spoke out. "It's like I see in slow motion men dying for nothing and I can't stop it," he said. "It is consuming me from the inside. It is eating me alive."

++++++++

Obama will crush him in his ongoing war on whistle blowers. Another reason to not vote for Democrats.