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, February 7, 2008

War News for Thursday, February 07, 2008

The Army Times is reporting the death of a soldier in a roadside bombing in a western neighborhood of Baghdad on Wednesday, February 6th.

The DoD is reporting the death of a soldier a non-combat related incident in Tallil Iraq on Tuesday, February 5th. No other details were released and the incident is under investigation.

The DoD is reporting the deaths of three soldiers in Balad from an IED attack in Muqdadiyah, Iraq on Tuesday, February 5th. No other details were released.


Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: U.S. troops raided Baghdad's largest Shiite slum early Thursday and arrested 16 people, U.S. and Iraqi officials and witnesses said. The American military said one person died. Two people were wounded in the nighttime raid, and one of those subsequently died, U.S. Navy Lt. Michael Street, a military spokesman, said in an e-mail response to an Associated Press query. Police and residents said American soldiers in Humvees backed by helicopters sealed off a block of the neighborhood and raided four houses. The front door lock on one of the houses was shattered by gunfire, and 22-year-old Arkan Abid Ali was shot in the chest and wounded, witnesses said.

#2: The U.S. military said in a statement one of its soldiers was killed Wednesday in western Baghdad by a roadside bomb, CNN reported.

#3: Three policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb went off near their patrol in Mansour neighborhood in western Baghdad, damaging a police vehicle and wounding three policemen aboard, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

#4: Two more policemen were wounded by a makeshift bomb explosion near their vehicle while patrolling the Baghdad's southeastern suburb of Salman Pak, the source said.

#5: Citizens reported an abandoned car in Hurriyah neighbourhood. It proved to carry a bomb and was detonated under control at 02:00 am.

#6: A suspicious abandoned carrier bag was reported near a girl’s high school in Hay Dragh, Mansour district in central Baghdad. Security forces confirmed that it contained an IED and attempted to detonate it under control but were unsuccessful. It exploded and seriously injured 3 policemen at around 07:00 this morning.

#7: Three government employees were killed and three others wounded in a drive-by shooting in northern Baghdad, police said.

#8: Gunmen driving a civilian car opened fire on another civilian car carrying 5 men who work as cleaners in the Baghdad Municipality near al-Nidaa Mosque, al-Qahira neighbourhood, north Baghdad at around 5 pm. The driver was shot several times and died instantly, their car then crashed into another car on the road. The other 4 survived the incident with superficial injuries.

#9: 5 bodies were found in Baghdad by Iraqi Police. 1 in Karrada, 1 in Palestine St, 1 in Saab, 1 in Ghazaliyah and 1 in Hurriyah.


Diyala Prv:
Baquba:
#1: Al-Qaida militants smashed into the home of a Sunni Muslim man northeast of Baghdad Thursday and killed three family members, police said. The unidentified man is a member of a so-called awakening group of Sunnis that cooperates with Iraqi and U.S. forces in trying to end the predominantly Sunni al-Qaida terror activities. After the killings, the militants blew up the house, sources told Kuwait's KUNA news agency.

The attack happened early Thursday in the Muradiyah area near Baqouba, about 35 miles northeast of the capital. Such groups - comprised mostly of Sunni tribesman partnering with the Americans to oust al-Qaida from their hometowns - have become frequent targets recently because of their alliance with U.S. and Iraqi forces.

#2: Four children were injured on Thursday morning in a bomb blast in the city of Baaquba, a security source said. An explosive charge went off in al-Muradiya village in Baaquba, injuring four children," the source, who asked anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq

Also in al-Muradiyah, a bomb killed one child and injured four, aged between seven and 10.

Khalis:
#1: U.S. forces killed five al Qaeda militants during operations on Wednesday northeast of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

Kanaan:
#1: In another incident, a US patrol in Kanaan, south-east of Baquba, opened fire on an approaching vehicle, killing a passenger and injuring two, the sources said.


Tulail: (Tallil?)
#1: A missile attack on the coalition airbase at Tulail in southern Iraq late Wednesday also injured two U.S. soldiers and a Bangladeshi coalition fighter, KUNA said. One of the U.S. soldiers injured was listed in serious condition, the report said.


Madain:
#1: At least three members of an Awakening Council group were killed and seven others wounded by a car bomb attack in a raid on al-Qaida hideout south of Baghdad on Thursday, an Interior Ministry source said. "A booby-trapped vehicle detonated in the afternoon when a group of Awakening Council fighters raided a house in the Khannasah village near the town of Madain, some 30 km southeast of Baghdad," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.


Salahudin Prv:
#1: Separately, the U.S. troops killed seven insurgents and detained 14 suspected al-Qaida militants during operations on Wednesday in the mountainous area in Salahudin province, according to a U.S. military statement on Thursday.

Tikrit:
#1: Unknown gunmen shot dead four civilians, including a brother of a senior official in Salahudin province on Thursday, said a source from the U.S. and Iraqi liaison office. "Salim Jabbar Mutar, brother of head of the city council of Tikrit capital city, was shot dead along with three people when gunmen opened fire on their car on a main road in the al-Dhibaiearea southwest of Tikrit," the source from the Joint Coordination Center in Tikrit told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Siniya:
#1: A roadside bomb killed Lieutenant-Colonel Khalid Rasheed, head of police for the town of Siniya near Baiji, 180km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#2: Lieutenant Khalid Kwan killed and 1 other officer and 1 policeman injured as a roadside bomb went off targeting an Iraqi Police patrol in Siniyah district, 7 km to the west of Baiji city this afternoon.


Mosul:
#1: Unidentified gunmen set eight communication towers ablaze in the city of Mosul, a police source said on Thursday. "Unknown gunmen set fire to six communication towers in al-Ghufran, Karama, Mithaq, al-Nour, al-Qadissiya al-Thaniya neighborhoods in eastern Mosul and al-Sedeeq neighborhood in the northern section of the city," the source told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI). "They burned also two more towers in 17 Tamouz and Senaat Wadi Ekab regions in western Mosul, he added. "The burnt towers belong to AsiaCell, Fanous, Iraqna mobile companies," the source explained, adding no further details.

#2: A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Intisar neighbourhood, east Mosul this morning, injuring 2 policemen.

#3: 3 policemen were injured as IED exploded targeting their patrol in al-Masarif neighbourhood, east Mosul this morning.

#4: U.S. forces killed an al Qaeda militant and detained six other suspects during operations on Wednesday and Thursday in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said



Afghanistan:
#1: A suicide car bomb targeting a NATO convoy left three soldiers lightly wounded Thursday in eastern Afghanistan, while a bungled suicide attack hurt two civilians in the southwest. The three NATO troops suffered minor injuries when the suicide car bomb detonated near the convoy in eastern Khost province, the coalition said.

#2: In southwestern Nimroz province, two suspected suicide bombers blew themselves up, wounding two passers-by Thursday in Khash Rod district, said provincial Gov. Ghulam Dastagir.

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