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, October 1, 2012

War News for Monday, October 01, 2012

NATO is reporting the deaths of three ISAF soldiers from a suicide IED attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, October 1st.


Reported security incidents
#1: A suicide bomber wearing a police uniform detonated an explosives-packed motorbike among a group of NATO and Afghan forces, killing three coalition soldiers and at least a dozen Afghans on Monday in the southeastern town of Khost, officials said. Among the dead were four Afghan policemen, including the commander of a special unit called the Rapid Reaction Force, and an interpreter for the NATO-led force. The Interior Ministry said dozens of people were wounded, many of them civilians. The Afghan and NATO forces were on a foot patrol when the bomber struck in front of a bank in a crowded part of Khost, near the border with Pakistan, officials said.

#2: A US drone strike targeting a vehicle killed at least three persons Monday in Mir Ali, security officials said. The strike took place in the Khaider Khel area of Mir Ali district, 30 kilometres (18 miles) east of Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan tribal region. "US drones fired four missiles on a militant vehicle, killing three suspected militants," a security official told AFP, adding that several drones were flying in the area at the time of the attack. Another security official confirmed the attack and casualties and said the identities of the militants killed in the strike were not immediately clear.

#3: Security forces killed seven militants in the recent clashes in Upper Orakzai while a security man also lost his life in a blast caused by an improvised explosive device (IED), Geo News reported Monday. According to official sources, the security forces were on routine patrolling in Mamuzai area of Upper Orakzai when a roadside IED exploded that killed one troop and injured two others. The security forces then launched an operation against the militants in the area and gunned down seven extremists and destroyed two compounds.

#4: Afghan police backed the army and the NATO-led forces have killed 38 Taliban fighters and injured nearly two dozen others over the past 24 hours, the Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Monday. "During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police backed by the army and the NATO-led Coalition Forces launched nine joint cleanup operations in Faryab, Sar-e-Pul, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Wardak, Logar, Paktika and Paktiya provinces during which 38 armed Taliban rebels have been killed, 23 wounded and 10 others arrested," the statement contended. However, it did not say if there were any casualties on the security forces.


DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Riley G. Stephens

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

They always say NATO troops killed but it's always discovered they were all Americans. In addition, it's Uncle Stupid on the hook for the billions in rebuilding, fighting, etc. No wonder we're a broke econimic has-been. Everyone else knows that they don't have to spend much on defense, e.g. Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, S Korea, because good ole Uncle Sucker is more than willing to spend their children's future earnings on being the world's policeman.
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zamzam said...

Most American are good hearted people but they are being told lies and manipulated by Zionist controlled government.

I believe it is every human being's duty to know fact and stop being naive and letting few controll.

Cervantes said...

I'm not going to delete the comment but it's borderline.

Look, the U.S. government is not "Zionist controlled." There is an influential lobby aligned with the Israeli right, which definitely distorts U.S. policy toward Palestine. But they don't give a shit about Afghanistan.