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


Friday, September 11, 2009

War News for Friday, September 11, 2009

NATO is reporting another death of an ISAF soldier in an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, September 10th. The press are reporting this to be a American soldier.

NATO is reporting the death of another ISAF soldier in a hostile fire attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, September 10th. The press are reporting this to be a Polish soldier in Ghazni province in an injured in an exchange of fire with insurgents. Fout additional soldiers were wounded in the attack.


Sept. 9 airpower summary:

Taliban presence seen across almost all Afghanistan:

Obama Facing Doubts Within His Own Party on Afghanistan:

Britain says has major concerns about Afghan vote: Britain's foreign secretary said on Friday he had concerns of serious fraud in Afghanistan's presidential election, saying "free and fair" would not be an accurate description of the vote.

UK: Police to investigate MI6 over torture claim:


Reported Security incidents:

Kut:
#1: A man in a civilian vehicle was wounded when an improvised explosive device went off near his car while he was driving home in al-Kut on Thursday, an Iraqi police source said. “An IED planted by unidentified persons on the main road near the new residential compound in al-Kut went off on Thursday (Sept. 10) while a civilian vehicle was driving by, wounding the driver and causing severe damage to his car,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Abu Ghraib:
#1: Inmates at Abu Ghraib prison started a fire and attacked guards, prompting authorities to call in Iraqi troops and American helicopters for support, the US military said today. The unrest began when three inmates started a fire in their cell yesterday and tried to overpower guards in an apparent escape attempt, US military spokesman Master Sgt Nicholas Conner said. Iraqi media reported that the Iraqi security forces fired shots during the riot and that an unspecified number of inmates were killed, but Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim said there were no fatalities. Iraqi authorities reported that three Iraqi guards and three prisoners were injured before security forces regained control, Sgt Conner said.

One prisoner was killed and 40 others were wounded in riots that took place in Abu Gharieb jail in western Baghdad on Thursday, a well-informed source said.


Balad:
#1: Five mortar shells hit the U.S. Anaconda base in Balad on Friday morning, with no word on casualties, a police source said. “Five mortar shells landed on Friday morning (Sept. 11) on Anaconda base in Tathhreb neighborhood in Balad city,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The shells landed on the eastern part if the huge base,” he said, noting that no ward was available on casualties and damage.


Hawija:
#1: Gunmen in a speeding car opened fire on and killed a civilian in Hawija, 210 km ( 130 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Riyadh:
#1: Two militants died when they accidentally detonated a bomb they were trying to plant in the town of Riyadh, about 210 km (130 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said


Kirkuk:
#1: Gunmen opened fire on and wounded six people in on the western outskirts of Kirkuk, 250 km ( 155 miles) north of Baghdad, on Thursday, police said.

#2: Gunmen opened fire on and wounded a civilian in eastern Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Mosul:
#1: An aid worker for a Bradford-based relief agency has been ambushed and shot dead near his home. Ra’aed Mohammed Saeed was shot several times in an attack close to Mosul, in Iraq, where he lived with his wife and six children.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Five Australian soldiers have been hurt in a bomb attack in Afghanistan. The troops were on a foot patrol in southern Afghanistan on Thursday when the improvised explosive device went off. The soldiers were on a routine patrol east of Tarin Kowt, the capital of Oruzgan province, when the bomb attack happened.

#2: Pakistani soldiers arrested the spokesman for the Taliban in the Swat Valley and four other commanders, the military announced Friday, striking its first direct blow against the leadership of the insurgency in the one-time tourist resort.

#3: Explosion in eastern Afghanistan's khost province Friday wounded nine persons, all of them civilians, officials said. "Nine wounded people, eight children and one adult, have been hospitalized," director of health department in Khost city Abdul Majid told Xinhua.



MoD: Corporal John Harrison

Press: Pfc. Piotr Marciniak

DoD: Petty Officer 3rd Class James R. Layton

DoD: Gunnery Sgt. Edwin W. Johnson Jr.

DoD: 1st Lt. Michael E. Johnson

DoD: Staff Sgt. Aaron M. Kenefick

DoD: Sgt. Youvert Loney

DoD: Staff Sgt. Shannon M. Smith

DoD: Pfc. Thomas F. Lyons

DoD: Pfc. Zachary T. Myers

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