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, July 13, 2009

War News for Monday, July 13, 2009

CJTF - 82 is reporting the death of an American ISAF soldier in an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, July 12th.

The Star Bulletin is reporting the death of a U.S. Marine at the Bethesda Naval Hospital on Friday, July 10th. Cpl. Matthew Lembke was originally wounded in an IED attack in Now Zad, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Monday, June 22nd.


Iraq lashed by sandstorms and battling drought:

Iraqi Kurds Delay Vote On Expansionist Constitution - Speaker:

U.S. forces said to violate security agreement in Mosul:

Wave of Iraq church bombings stretches into third day:

Obama orders probe of killings in Afghanistan:

Cheney hid CIA torture from US Congress: Senator:

Pakistanis displaced by offensive return home:

Britain may send more troops to Afghanistan:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Seven persons on Monday were wounded in an explosive charge blast that occurred in southern Baghdad, according to an Iraqi police source. “A roadside improvised explosive device (IED) went off in al-Jadriya area near al-Zawya intersection, southern Baghdad, while a police patrol vehicle was passing the location,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Three patrolmen and four civilians were wounded in the explosion,” the source noted.

#2: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed one policeman and wounded 10 people, including four policemen, in the capital's central Karrada district, police said.

#3: A sticky bomb attached to a car killed the driver and wounded four others on Sunday in Baghdad's southern Saidiya district, police said.


Dhi Qar Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb exploded near a convoy carrying U.S. ambassador to Baghdad Chris Hill in southern Iraq, but the envoy was unhurt, the U.S. embassy said on Monday. Hill was traveling in Dhi Qar province, about 300 km (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad, on Sunday when the bomb struck his convoy, U.S. embassy spokeswoman Susan Ziadeh said. "No personnel were injured or hurt. An investigation into the incident is taking place," she said.


Basra:
#1: The U.S. base at Basra International Airport on Monday was hit with Katyusha rockets, said a security source from the province. “Two Katyusha missiles hit the base, 25 km west of Basra,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.There was no word on casualties or damage.


Al Sharqat:
#1: A blast outside a local council meeting in northern Iraq wounded seven U.S. troops and a linguist, U.S. military officials said Monday. The incident Sunday in Salaheddin Province was the first known major attack on U.S. troops since U.S. combat troops completed their withdrawal from urban centers on June 30. Maj. Derrick Cheng, a spokesman for the U.S. military's Multi-National Division-North, said Sunday's explosion happened around 1 p.m. outside the Al Sharqat Qa'da council building. The troops were walking back to their vehicles after a meeting with district government officials about civil capacity projects to help the citizens in the region, Cheng said.


Mosul:
#1: Three children on Monday were injured in a car bomb blast that occurred in front of a Shiite mosque in Mosul city, according to a local security source. “During an early hour this morning, a booby-trapped car detonated in front of a Shiite mosque in al-Faysaliya area, eastern Mosul, wounding three children and causing damage to the mosque’s front façade,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The blast also caused damage to the nearby Virgin Mary Church, a building and two civilian vehicles, according to the source. “The blast occurred at 05:30 a.m. while U.S. personnel were leaving al-Nasr police department,” the source noted.

#2: One Iraqi soldier on Monday was killed when a sticky improvised explosive device (IED) targeted his car in Mosul city, according to a local security source. “The soldier was off-duty in al-Rashidiya area, northern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Rajab Khan, the district police chief of Jalriz in Wardak province, just south of the capital, was killed when his car was blown up by a roadside bomb, a provincial administration spokesman said. "Rajab Khan was driving... a remote-controlled bomb struck his car, killing himself and three of his bodyguards," Shahedullah Shahed told AFP. Another police was wounded in the blast.

#2: Six militants were killed and 10 injured in a gun battle with security forces at a check post in South Waziristan. According to official sources, the militants attacked the security check post at the Tyarza Gate and the forces retaliated. Security forces also pounded militant hideouts with heavy artillery in Srwakai, Maula Khan Sarai and Kothki areas.

#3: Earlier, one security man was killed and two injured in an attack on a security check post in South Waziristan's Daray Nashtar area. Militants attacked the check post with heavy weapons, resulting in a fierce retaliation by the army after they tracked the militants back to their hideouts.

#4: "In the first incident, which occurred at 8 a.m. local time, when a group of armed terrorists opened fire on police patrol team in Khashrod district and police returned fire killing three terrorists on the spot," the statement said.

#5: In another incident, also in the same district, police opened fired and killed a terrorist, said the statement.

#6: Two Taliban insurgents were killed as a clash flared up in a far-flanged area of the northern Kunduz province, provincial police chief Abdul Razeq Yaqubi said Monday. "Taliban insurgents attacked police patrol in Aisa khil village of Chardara district late Sunday night and police encountered, killing two insurgents on the spot and injuring another," Yaqubi told Xinhua. He also admitted that two police vehicles were damaged during the firefight.

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