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


Monday, June 18, 2012

War News for Monday, June 18, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, June 18th.


Attack on U.S. outpost in Afghanistan worse than originally reported  -- A June 1 attack on a U.S. outpost near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was much worse than originally disclosed by the military as insurgents pounded the base with a truck bomb, killing two Americans and seriously wounding about three dozen troops, officials acknowledged Saturday.

Suicide bomber kills south Yemen army chief


Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan authorities say a remote-controlled bomb has killed five people in eastern Afghanistan.
Hussain Khan Sanjani, the leader of the provincial council in Kapisa province, says Monday's explosion killed an Afghan local police commander along with his son, two body guards and one civilian. He says 17 other people were wounded in the blast, which occurred around 11 a.m. in a bazaar in Tagab district.

#2: At least four students were killed and many injured by a bomb blast which hit a university bus in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, officials say. Police say the bomb was planted on a vehicle parked in a suburb of the provincial capital, Quetta.

#3: Afghan security forces, backed by the NATO-led coalition troops, have eliminated 15 Taliban insurgents and detained six other within the past 24 hours, the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Monday. "Afghan police, army, NDS or Afghan intelligence agency and Coalition Forces launched 14 joint cleanup operations in Nangarhar, Baghlan, Faryab, Sari Pul, Kandahar, Helmand, Nimroz, Uruzgan and Ghor provinces, killing 15 armed Taliban insurgents and detaining six other suspects over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement providing daily operational updates to media.


DoD: Sgt. Nicholas C. Fredsti

DoD: Sgt. Joseph M. Lilly

DoD: Spc. Trevor A. Pinnick

MoD: Corporal Alex Guy

Posted by whisker at 3:28 AM

2 comments:

Dancewater said...

Anti-Shiite suicide bombing kills 22 in Iraq

By Mustafa al-Tuwaijri (AFP) – 4 hours ago

BAQUBA, Iraq — A suicide bomber killed 22 people at a Shiite gathering in central Iraq on Monday, officials said, in the latest in a string of attacks against the Shiite majority that has left dozens dead.

The bomber targeted mourners in central Baquba, north of Baghdad, a police colonel said, adding that among the casualties were an army first lieutenant, four police officers and seven other security forces members.

Dr Ahmed Ibrahim at Baquba General Hospital confirmed the facility had received 22 bodies and 50 wounded people.

LINK

June 18, 2012 at 1:54 PM
Dancewater said...

Reuters says 26 were killed.

June 18, 2012 at 1:56 PM

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