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


Wednesday, October 24, 2007

War News for Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Photo: A suspected suicide car bomber kneels on the ground near the explosives and the vehicle he was trying to use in a foiled bomb attack after he was caught by the police in Kerbala, 110 km (68 miles) south of Baghdad, October 24, 2007. A suicide car bomb attack was foiled by the police after the car bomb failed to explode when the vehicle rammed into a checkpoint near the Imam Hussein shrine in Kerbala, police said. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammad (IRAQ)

Security Incidents:

BAGHDAD - U.S. forces arrested 21 gunmen during operations in central and northern Iraq, the U.S. military said.

BAGHDAD - Iraqi army soldiers killed five gunmen and arrested 48 others during the last 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.

BAGHDAD - Two roadside bombs exploded simultaneously, killing at least five people and wounding 25 near a busy market and a gathering of people waiting to take transport to their jobs in the morning in the Diyala Bridge district of Baghdad, police said. Update: Baghdad double explosion casualties up to 34 [At least nine have died. – dancewater]

Baghdad - The Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) said on Wednesday that an Iraqi army force raided the office of the Congress of the People of Iraq under the front's head Dr. Adnan al-Dulaimi in al-Adl neighborhood in western Baghdad, injuring three of his bodyguards.

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb exploded near a police commando patrol, wounding three people, including two policemen, in the Qadissiya district of southwestern Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - Four bodies were found shot in separate attacks in Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.

Baghdad - 2 people, a civilian and a policeman were wounded when mortar shell hit Zayuna neighborhood east Baghdad around 4,00 pm.

Baghdad - Police found 6 bodies in Baghdad today. 4 bodies were found in Karkh, the eastern side of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (2 bodies in Amil and 2 bodies in Doura”. 2 bodies were found in Sadr city and Shaab neighborhood in the east side of Baghdad.

Babel: U.S.-Iraqi forces arrest 11 gunmen in northern Babel

BAIJI - Insurgents killed a U.S. soldier and wounded five others near the northern Iraqi town of Baiji, 180 km (112 miles), the U.S. military said. The statement did not mention how the soldiers were killed.

Near Baquba - Gunmen broke in a house killing a father with his two sons in Zaghanya village north of Baquba city around 6 pm.

DIWANIYA - Iraqi police arrested Sulaiman al-Edami, a member of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's political movement, when they raided his house in a town near Diwaniya, 180 km (112 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

HIB HIB - Three mortar rounds killed three people and wounded 24 others when they landed on the village of Hib Hib, 8 km (5 miles) northwest of Baquba, police said.

Kirkuk - 2 guards working for the head of the Turkmen trend were injured in an IED explosion that targeted their vehicle in Al Wasiti neighborhood downtown Kirkuk city yesterday night.

Kirkuk - Gunmen kidnapped one of the employees of Hawija electricity directorate near Al Ahnaf village west of Kirkuk city yesterday night.

Near Kirkuk - Police found a body in Al Sadir village in Hawija town west Kirkuk yesterday night.

MAHAWEEL - A body with gunshot wounds to the head and signs of torture was found in Mahaweel, 75 km (45 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

Mosul: Two suspected Islamic group members arrested.

Talafar: Three explosive charges defused in Ninewa province.

Turkey kills Kurdish fighters in Iraq 34 dead after air sorties and shelling against rebel positions in northern Iraq. Earlier, Reuters reported that in the past few days war planes had flown as deep as 13 miles into Iraqi territory and some 300 ground troops advanced about six miles, killing 34 fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers party (PKK).

Turkish planes pound rebels along border

Basra - Iraq's Basra police chief escapes assassination bid. Gunman fired from rooftops at his car and injured one of his bodyguards.

Basra - seven people, including five policemen, were killed in a landmine blast in the south of the country, witnesses said. A landmine similar to those used in the Iran-Iraqi war exploded in the Shalamga area in the southern city of Basra as two electricity workers mended an electricity line.

Some more incidents from yesterday:

ISKANDARIYA - A girl was killed by random gunfire in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, on Tuesday, police said.

MOSUL - Four bodies, including a woman and a girl, were found shot in separate attacks on Tuesday in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

Kerbala - Iraqi police kill two infants in Kerbala raid

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