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, March 26, 2007

Security Incidents for 03/26/07

PHOTO: Security employees chant slogans during a demonstration in Diwaniya, 180 km (112 miles) south of Baghdad, March 25, 2007. Thousands of security guards held a rally on Sunday protesting against the government for not paying their salaries in Diwaniya. The yellow placard reads "We die for our families and our children". Picture taken March 25, 2007. REUTERS/Imad al-Khozai (IRAQ)

Baghdad:

While conducting a route clearance mission, a MND-B Soldier died when an improvised explosive device detonated near the Soldier’s position in a northwestern section of the Iraqi capital March 25, wounding two others

In Baghdad, one person was killed and three were wounded when three mortar shells hit a neighborhood in the mainly Sunni Dora district, according to police.

In the southeastern district of Zafaraniyah, a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol went off at 10:55 am, killing a police officer and wounding three, including a police captain, police said. Two civilians also were injured.

Iraqi soldiers killed six suspected insurgents over the past 24 hours around Iraq, the Defence Ministry said

A loud explosion shook the area near the U.S. embassy in Baghdad's heavily fortified international Green Zone in central Baghdad on Monday, witnesses said. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear, but the area is frequently attacked by mortars and rockets, which usually cause few casualties.

A rocket landed in Baghdad's heavily fortified international Green Zone on Monday, rocking the U.S. embassy but causing no casualties, witnesses said. U.S. embassy spokesman Lou Fintor would not say exactly where the rocket landed for security reasons but confirmed it had crashed into the sprawling international zone, which also houses the Iraqi government and other foreign embassies. "Preliminary reports indicate the source of the explosion was a rocket. There were no casualties and minimal damage," he said.

Two explosions struck the Green Zone in Baghdad on Monday, slightly wounding three people, according to the U.S. Embassy. The first attack was about 2 p.m. when a rocket fell in the heavily fortified area in central Baghdad, causing the injuries, embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said. He did not provide more details about the nationalities of those injured or the exact location of the strikes, citing security concerns. Another explosion occurred at about 4:20 p.m. and preliminary reports indicated it was a rocket as well, Fintor said. That attack caused no injuries or deaths and only minor damage, he said.

A suicide car bomb killed two civilians and wounded five more in Rusafa, near the Shorja market in central Baghdad, police said.

At least four people were wounded when a rocket landed on a house in the district of Karrada in central Baghdad, police said.

Gunmen killed an adviser for the Sunni Endowment, an organisation which manages Sunni religious sites, along with two other employees in a drive-by shooting in Adhamiya in northern Baghdad, the Sunni Endowment said. One more employee was wounded.

A civilian was shot dead by the American forces in Shoala neighborhood west Baghdad around 4,00 pm

2 civilians were injured in an IED explosion targeted the civilian sin Al Shurta Al Rabi'aa neighborhood south west Baghdad at 4,30 pm

A member of Police commandos was killed and two others were injured by a sniper who targeted a commandos' patrol in Um Al Ma'alif neighborhood south Baghdad around 5 pm

4 Iraqi army soldiers were injured in an IED explosion targeted their patrol in Doura neighborhood south Baghdad at

A civilian was killed in an IED explosion targeted the civilian in Saidiyah neighborhood south Baghdad at 5,00 pm

15 anonymous bodies were found in Baghdad today. 13 bodies were found in Karkh, the western part of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (3 bodies in Doura, 2 bodies in Shoala, 2 bodies in hay Al Amil, 2 bodies in Mahmoudiyah, 2 bodies in Hay Al Jihad and 2 bodies in Bayaa.) 2 bodies were found in Risafa, the eastern part of Baghdad, one body was found in Sadr city and another body was found in Shaab neighborhood

Diyala Prv:

Four Task Force Lightning Soldiers were killed Sunday when an improvised explosive device exploded near their patrol in Diyala Province. Two other Soldiers were also wounded in the attack and were taken to a Coalition Forces’ medical treatment facility

A medical source in Baquba city north of Baghdad said that 4 civilians including tow women were injured when clashes broke up between a combined force of the Iraq army & the MNF and insurgents in Al Mu’alimeen neighborhood west Baquba today early morning.

A security source said that 5 members of one family (a family of a security member) were injured when a bomb exploded near their house gate in Al Mustafa neighborhood west Baquba early morning today. The source confirmed that another bomb exploded when a police patrol passed through Al Mustafa neighborhood but not casualties were recorded.

A security source said that two civilians were injured when insurgents opened their guns fire randomly near Diyala governorate building downtown Diyala city today morning.

A police source in Miqdadiya town east north Baquba city said that a civilian was killed and two policemen were injured when insurgents opened their guns fire in Al Mu’alimeen neighborhood today morning.

A security source close to the 5th Iraqi army division said that insurgents groups fought each other today to control the eastern entrance of Baquba city. The source confirmed according to eyewitnesses that three insurgents were killed while a civilian was injured during the clashes.

A source in Diyala police 1st emergency brigade said that a force from the brigade arrested tow suspects and confiscated some weapons while searching some houses in Al Mustafa neighborhood west Baquba.

Haswa:

In a separate incident, unidentified gunmen left a corpse filled with explosives near an Iraqi army checkpoint in al-Haswa, 55 km south of Baghdad. The explosive-laden body detonated as soldiers approached, wounding two of them, the source added.

Iskandariyah:

A fierce clash broke out on Monday morning when unknown gunmen attempted to storm the al-Mustafa mosque in Iskandariyah, 45 km south of Baghdad, killing at least one civilian and injuring three others, Xinhua quoted an anonymous police spokesperson as saying.

Mortars also landed in a central residential district, killing two and wounding four.

A total of seven Iraqi army troops were wounded on Monday when a bomb went off near their checkpoint. A group of armed men detonated a booby-trapped body near to a checkpoint in al-Iskandriyah district, north of Hilla," the source, who asked not to be identified, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "The blast wounded seven soldiers and damaged the checkpoint building," he added.

Mahaweel:

In Mahaweel, a mainly Shiite town 35 miles south of Baghdad, a bomb planted near a Sunni mosque went off Monday morning, damaging the building but causing no casualties, police said.

Dinwaniya:

Moreover, a bomb targeting a US army patrol exploded in Al Sadir region in Diwaniya

The body of a man was found with gunshot wounds, bound and bearing signs of torture on Sunday in the southern city of Diwaniya, 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad, police said

Kut:

Gunmen killed an Iraqi contractor working for the U.S. forces in a drive-by shooting on Sunday in a town near the city of Kut, 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said.

Basra:

The improvised explosive device went off as two British Warrior vehicles undertook a patrol north of Basra Palace. Captain Gary Hedges, a British Army spokesman in the city, said both vehicles were slightly damaged, but no-one was injured.

A British soldier was wounded when a roadside bomb hit his patrol in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. The incident happened in the centre of the city, said military spokeswoman Capt. Katie Brown. No other details of the incident were available.

Anti-Explosives Unit in Iraqi police defused on Monday two bombs in northern Basra, 550 km south of Baghdad. Anti-Explosives Unit defused on Monday two bombs near to Saleh River in al-Emdiynah district in northern Basra," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq

"The British Consulate in central Basra came under four mortar shells attack," he added, noting that the attack caused no damage inside the consulate.

Salah ad-Din province:

Three bodies were found in Tikrit, Salah ad-Din province, on Monday of people, who were killed by unidentified gunmen, a police source said. "Police forces found on Monday morning a body of unidentified man with a Kalashnikov gun beside him. The body bore signs of gun shots to the chest," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq. A shootout flared up between the forces and unidentified gunmen as the forces were trying to carry the body," he added, noting that the clash did not leave victims on both sides.

Police patrols found also two corpses of a man and his son inside their car on the highway that links Tikrit and Touz," he added, giving no further details.

Three gunmen were killed in clashes with the Iraqi police near the western entrance of Samarra city north of Baghdad today early morning. Four Iraqi policemen were injured and Iraqi police confiscated few guns and grenades

A police officer was killed and three policemen were inured in an IED explosuion targeted their patrol on the main near Al Hujjaj street

Baji:

A police source in Biji city said that an American soldier was killed by a sniper in Biji city north of Tikrit midday

Mosul:

In scattered violence Monday across Iraq, gunmen in two cars fatally shot an off-duty police officer walking near his home in the northern city of Mosul, according to Brig. Mohammed al-Wagaa, director of police operations in Ninveh province of which Mosul is the capital.

In Mosul, insurgents shut dead a police major in Sumer Neighborhood

Gunmen killed a Facilities Protection Service captain in the northern city of Mosul on Sunday, police said.

Gunmen killed tribal leader Mohammed al-Igoud and wounded his son on Sunday in the northern city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

A decapitated body was found in Mosul on Sunday. Another body of a man, with gunshot wounds, was found on Monday in Mosul, a hospital source said

Hawija:

Police killed a gunman and arrested another when they were trying to plant a roadside bomb in the town of Hawija, 70 km (40 miles) southwest of the northern oil city of Kirkuk, police said.

Kirkuk:

A policeman was wounded in an IED explosion near one of the bridges in Al Qadisiyah neighborhood downtown Kirkuk city at 8 am today.

Al Anbar Prv:

An Iraqi army vehicle was destroyed when an explosive charge went off near a vehicle patrol in eastern Falluja, 45 km west of Baghdad, a police source said. "Today at 5:00 pm, an explosive charge, planted by unknown gunmen, detonated near an Iraqi army vehicle patrol in east of Falluja, destroying an army vehicle," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The blast also left casualties among the Iraqi soldiers, said the source but he declined to give a specific number.

Tal Afar:

Iraqi police raided a house in Tal Afar, near the Syrian border, and shot a man wearing an explosive vest, which detonated, killing himself and another insurgent, police said.

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