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


Thursday, June 7, 2007




Security Incidents for Thursday, June 07, 07


A U.S. Army soldier looks for snipers during a patrol in Roshdi Mulla, Iraq, May 17, 2007.

(1) The British Ministry of Defense has announced the death of one of their soldiers in Iraq on Thursday, June 7th. The soldier was on patrol in the Al Atiyah district to the northwest of Basra when he was hit by small arms fire. He was airlifted quickly to the medical facility at Basra Air Station, but died there shortly after arrival.

(2) The DoD has identified two new U.S. Air Force deaths, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Both airmen were Special Agents to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations who died in the vicinity of Kirkuk in northern Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated near their vehicle on Tuesday, June 5th:

Technical Sergeant Ryan A. Balmer, 33, of Mishawaka, Indiana
Staff Sergeant Matthew J. Kuglics, 25, of North Canton, Ohio

According to an Associated Press report, Balmer was based at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. He is survived by a wife and three children. The article went on to say that Kuglics was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. The Akron (Ohio) Beacon is carrying a brief article on Kuglics, stating that he graduated from high School in 2000.
(3) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier in an IED attack in a southwestern neighborhood of Baghdad on Wednesday, June 6th. Two other soldiers were wounded in the incident.

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In Country:
#1: The UK's combat and peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and Iraq since earlier this decade have resulted in the loss of almost 50 unmanned air vehicles and irreparable damage to almost 40 more, secretary of state for defence Des Browne has revealed. "Since 2003, 33 UAVs have been lost in Iraq", says Browne, adding that a further 38 were damaged beyond repair. The Ministry of Defence has not released details of the air vehicle types involved, but at least 23 of the British Army's BAE Systems Phoenix UAVs are known to have been lost or written off during the combat phase of Iraqi operations. Other unmanned systems believed to have been used in the country by British forces include Mission Technologies Buster and Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk mini UAVs and US Air Force-owned General Atomics MQ-1 Predators. Browne has also revealed that 15 Desert Hawks were destroyed and another damaged beyond repair during operations in Afghanistan until 24 April.


Baghdad:
#1: At least five people were killed and 15 others were injured when two booby-trapped cars went off on Thursday morning in al-Talibiya region and Sadr city in eastern Baghdad, police sources said. "The first blast took place in al-Talibiya region this afternoon, killing three persons and wounding 15," a security source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq

#2: Local residents in Baghdad's southwestern Sunni neighborhood of al-Bayaa foiled an armed attack targeting a government building on Thursday afternoon, eyewitnesses said. "Unknown gunmen sprayed machine-gun fire into al-Rasheed Unit building, affiliated to Baghdad's municipal government in al-Bayaa, close to al-Saidiya neighborhood," an eyewitness told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq. The building's guards offered great resistance, but when they ran out of ammunition local residents joined in the fight, forcing the gunmen to run away.
#3: "The second car detonated near a marketplace in Sadr city, leaving two persons dead and unspecified number of injuries," he added.

#4: Iraqi soldiers killed eight suspected insurgents and arrested 40 others in different parts of Iraq over the past 24 hours, the Iraqi military said

#5: Meanwhile, mortar attacks in two different areas of western Baghdad have left two civilians dead and 12 others wounded.

#6: A Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated during combat operations in a southwestern section of Baghdad June 6. Two other Soldiers were also wounded in the attack and evacuated to a Coalition medical facility for medical treatment.

#7: A prominent Iraqi Sunni party says Shia militiamen have attacked two Sunni mosques in Baghdad. The Iraqi Islamic Party says the militiamen, backed by commando troops, raised their banners over the Rahman and Fataah Basha mosques. The party says many Sunnis have been forced to flee the area. The mosques are in the Bayaa district, an area with a mix of Sunni and Shia residents. The Shia-dominated government has not commented on the latest accusations. In a statement on its website, the Iraqi Islamic Party said the latest attacks came shortly after Kurdish troops stationed in Bayaa were replaced by interior ministry commandos.

#8: Around 1 pm , mortars hit Saidiya neighborhood ( south west Baghdad) .

#9: Around 1.30 pm, mortars hit Shurta Al-Rabiaa ( west Baghdad) killing 1 and injuring 9 other people.

#10: Around 1 pm, clashes took place between gunmen and Iraqi army in Doura neighborhood at Bilat Al-Shuhdaa district injuring 2 Iraqi soldiers .

#11: Around 5 pm, two car bombs exploded in Abu Ghraib ( west of Baghdad) targeting an army check point killing five ( three of them are soldiers )and injuring 12 ( 6 of them are soldiers) while the rest are civilians.

#12: (32 ) dead bodies were found all over Baghdad : ( 28 ) bodies were founf in west Baghdad ( Karkh bank ) ; 7 in Amil , 4 in Doura , 3 in Khadhimiya , 3 in Saidiya , 3 in Bayaa , 2 in Mansour , 2 in Mahmoudiya , 2 in Shurtaa Rabia'a . ( 4 ) were found in east Baghdad ( Risafa bank ) ; 2 in Sadr city , 1 in Sha'ab , 1 in Suleikh .


Diyala Prv:
Khalis:
#1: Unknown gunmen positioning a fake checkpoint on the main road near Khalis town, 55 km north of Baghdad, forced at gunpoint a minibus carrying seven college students back from their final examination at Diala University," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq


Mahmudiya:
#1: Police found two bodies with bullet wounds and showing signs of torture near the town of Mahmudiya, 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

Basra:
#1: "A British force was attacked by gunmen, leaving unspecified number of soldiers injured, who were rushed to the military hospital for treatment," he also said

It is with much sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of a British soldier from 4th Battalion The Rifles, in southern Iraq today, Thursday 7 June 2007. The soldier was part of a patrol conducting a search and detention operation in the Al Atiyah district, north west of Basra City at about 0220 local time when he was shot by small arms fire. He was evacuated by helicopter to the field hospital at the British base at Basra Air Station. He was given the best possible treatment but sadly died of his injuries at 0340. There were three other Multi National Forces casualties during this operation, but their injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

#2: A kidnapped governmental accountant was found dead along with his three sons on Thursday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, a source from the Iraqi Ports Company said. "The body of Yaqoub Yousif, an accountant at the state-owned Iraqi Ports Company, was found today along with the bodies of his three sons who were kidnapped yesterday evening," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq

#3: Wednesday evening , gunmen kidnapped the manager of Rafidain bank branch in Safwan ( 60 km west of Basra)


Tikrit:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted a senior police officer's convoy near Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. Two of the officer's bodyguards were wounded.


Samarra:
#1: Before mid-day , three people were killed and 6 injured by police in Samara with no more details about reasons behind this action


Baiji:
#1: Unidentified gunmen blew up the headquarters of Iraqi security forces in central Baiji on Thursday, while U.S. and Iraqi forces started a crack down operation in al-Siniya district, west of Baiji, a police source said. "Unidentified gunmen blew up on Thursday morning a building on the main road that links old and new Samera used by Iraqi security forces as a headquarters," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq, noting that the two-storey building was destroyed completely. "The forces left the headquarters last night after an attack by unknown armed men three days ago, that left three forces wounded," the source also said.


Tar Al- abaghal Area:
#1: Around 9 .45 pm of Wednesday , mortars hit a headquarter of the Iraqi army on the high way between Biji and Kirkuk near ( Tar Al- abaghal ) village without casualties recorded. Meanwhile a squad from the headquarter searched the area found out a roadside bomb planted in the area which had been foiled by them without any damage.


Mosul:
#1: Voices of Iraq (VOI) correspondent Sahar Hussein al-Haydari was killed on Thursday afternoon in al-Hadbaa neighborhood in Mosul by unidentified gunmen, a police source said. "Her name was among other names listed by what is called (Emir of the Islamic State in Mosul)," deputy chief of the Mosul police department Mohammad al-Wakaa told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq


Kirkuk:
#1: Wednesday evening , a roadside bomb exploded in the downtown of Kirkuk city near the fire brigade department targeting a police patrol killing one policeman and injuring three others


Rabea:
#1:A suicide truck bomber killed nine people and wounded 22 in an attack on the police headquarters of an Iraqi town near the Syrian border on Thursday, police said. Police said the attack took place in the town of Rabea, northwest of Mosul in northern Iraq. Four policemen were among the dead.

The first attack destroyed a police station in a northern town near the border with Syria. Three officers died there. A guard shot the driver as the truck headed toward the building but it crashed through the protective blast walls and exploded.

A suicide truck bomber killed nine people and wounded 22, including five British civilian contractors, in an attack on the police headquarters in Rabea, a town near the Syrian border, police said


Al Anbar Prv:
Ramadi:
#1: About an hour later, a suicide bomber blew up his car at a police checkpoint in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. Three more officers are dead there.

Fallujah:
#1: Police found five bodies, all tortured and shot, in farmland 12 km (8 miles) north of Falluja, police said. The five men were kidnapped by gunmen from Falluja three days ago.



Afghanistan:
#1: A battle and airstrikes in southern Afghanistan left 30 suspected Taliban dead or wounded, the Ministry of Defense said Thursday. The battle took place Wednesday in the Garmser district of Helmand province, the world's largest poppy-growing region and site of fierce battles in recent months. Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said officials could not say how many of the 30 reported casualties were killed or how many wounded. He said multiple sources were used to come up with the figure.

#2: Elsewhere, suspected militants attacked a government compound in the southern province of Zabul's Daychopan district Thursday, killing a policeman and wounding three others, said a district police chief, Hakim Khan. The suspected militants traded heavy machine-gun fire with police and Afghan soldiers for more than two hours, Khan said. One policeman was killed, while two soldiers and a policeman were wounded in the clash before the Taliban withdrew, he said.

#3: An Afghan soldier was also killed in a mine explosion in Zabul province, a Defense Ministry statement said.

#4: Meanwhile, in eastern Afghanistan, U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops killed "an enemy militant" during a firefight in Nangarhar province's Khogyani district, a coalition statement said. The troops had been approaching a suspected al-Qaida safehouse when they were fired upon, the statement said. "Coalition and Afghan forces returned fire, killing the armed militant and quickly securing the scene," it said. The statement said three men were detained, and that troops discovered weapons, timers and grenades , often used to make improvised explosive devices.

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