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


Tuesday, June 2, 2009

War News for Tuesday, June 02, 2009

NATO is reporting the deaths of four ISAF soldiers in two roadside bombings in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, June 1st. The Buffalo News is reporting that the attacks killed four American soldiers in the Nirkh district, Wardak Province.

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by the military. Pvt. Bradley W. Iorio died Friday, May 29th at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. He was originally injured in a non-combat related incident in Tallil (airbase?), Iraq on Wednesday, May 27th.

MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a U.S. Soldier in a roadside bombing in an eastern neighborhood of Baghdad on Tuesday, June 2nd.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an "insurgent attack" in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two additional soldiers were wounded in the attack. Note the NATO link to the article is broken but is still listed on the release page.


Police: Arkansas Gunman Targeted Military:

Cheney Says There Was No Iraq Link to 9/11 Attacks: (Here's the flip-flop of the year. -- whisker)

Oil from northern Iraq first pumped to Turkish port:


Reported Security incidents:

Mussayab:
#1: A bomb placed outside a barber shop wounded two people, including a barber, in Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, on Monday, police said.


Wassit Prv:
#1: Four Katyusha missiles on Monday hit the office of a U.S. firm in Wassit without causing any casualties, said a security source from the province. “Unknown gunmen launched the rockets today at dawn,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The U.S. Company is executing al-Malih Bridge, 90 km to the west of Kut city,” he said.


Kirkuk:
#1: A joint patrol of police and U.S. troops came under a hand grenade attack on Monday without casualties, a source from the joint coordination center said. “A joint patrol of the Multinational forces and al-Huwaiyja police came under attack by a hand grenade in the industrial neighborhood in al-Huwaiyja district in southwest of Kirkuk, without leaving casualties,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: Two policemen were wounded on Monday in a mortar shell attack in eastern Mosul a police source said. “Two policemen were wounded on Monday (Jun 1) when a mortar shell hit the criminal evidences building in al-Nabi Younes region in eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: At least five members of an Afghan family died Tuesday in an explosion that wrecked their car on a village road near the American air base at Bagram, according to Afghan and American officials. But accounts of the incident — the second time in a week that a device was detonated near the strategic base — varied significantly. Initial reports said six people, including two children, died in the attack, but subsequent accounts said one of the children survived and was in a serious condition in a local hospital. An Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman, Zemarai Bashary, blamed the attack on militants, who are known to plant roadside bombs in the area at nighttime. But the ministry later revised its account to say the car was blown up by a suicide attacker, presumably on foot.

#2: At least two people were shot dead as unknown militants attacked the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) supply containers in southwestern Pakistan early Tuesday morning. Private Geo TV channel quoted police as saying that unknown armed gunmen ambushed three trucks carrying NATO supply containers on bypass road of Chaman town in Balochistan province. Two people were killed on the spot and three vehicles were damaged in the attack. The suspected militants managed to flee the scene after a brief shootout with police personnel which left an officer injured, according to the Geo report.

#3: The US military said troops raided a Taliban compound in Wardak province early Tuesday and killed six of them. It accused the men of involvement in "multiple attacks against Afghan and coalition forces using heavy weaponry, mines and suicide bombers."

#4: The US military said troops killed "six enemy combatants" in an overnight operation in the eastern province of Paktika targeted at a Taliban commander. Afghan and international troops spotted the commander travelling by vehicle with some of his men, it said in a statement. The troops came under fire. "Forces returned fire and called for close air support to suppress the enemy attack, ending the engagement in less than an hour. All six enemy combatants were killed in the fight," it said. The provincial government confirmed that six insurgents were killed in air strikes in the area.

#5: To the west, Afghan authorities said Taliban fighters attacked a convoy in the province of Farah, killing more than 10 Afghan private security guards and destroying 10 vehicles. "It was a big convoy travelling from Farah to Kandahar (city). We have sent a delegation to investigate the incident," said police spokesman for western Afghanistan, Abdul Rauf Ahmadi.

#6: An unidentified gunman killed a local police chief in a separate area of Farah on Monday, a police spokesman said.

#7: A roadside bomb wounded three construction workers, including two foreigners, in southeastern Paktika province, the interior ministry said.

#8: A suicide bomber wounded two security guards in an attack on their vehicle in another area of Paktika, an official said.

#9: A huge blast was heard in southwestern Pakistan's Quetta city on Tuesday, private Geo TV channel reported. Police are trying to locate the site of the blast in Quetta, capital city of Balochistan province, the report said.

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