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, September 22, 2009

War News for Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier in an IED attack in the Gereshk district, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Monday, September 21st.

The DoD is reporting the death of an Airman from an undisclosed non-hostile incident on Abdullah Al Mubarak Airbase, Kuwait on Sunday, September 20th.

NATO is reporting the death of an American ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, September 21st.


Sept. 19 airpower summary:

Sept. 20 airpower summary:

AP sources: Obama may change Afghanistan course again:

In Afghanistan Assessment, a Catalyst for Obama:

Iraqis Hit by Crime Wave After Years of War:

Turkey eyes term extension on Iraq oil pipeline deal:

UK's Brown seeks fewer UK troops in Afghanistan:

Britain army draws up plan to send 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan:


Reported Security incidents:

Hilla:
#1: Three people were killed and two others wounded when an improvised explosive device went off in northern al-Hilla city on Monday, a police source in Babel said. “A sticky IED attached to a vehicle inside a fuel station in al-Latifiya district, (70 km northern Hilla, went off on Monday, leaving three people killed and two others wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Balad:
#1: “A roadside bomb devastated a U.S. truck in Balad suburb,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He said that the truck was set on fire.


Dalouiya:
#1: A U.S. Hummer was destroyed by gunmen’s rockets in Dalouiya,” the source said. He said that U.S. forces responded and opened fire toward nearby farms.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Finnish peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan were attacked in the early hours of Monday. A rocket-propelled grenade fired at the forces missed its target. The attack took place in the west of Mazar-i-Sharif, where Finnish and Swedish crisis management forces are deployed, said the group’s new commander, Lieutenant General Tommi Härkönen by telephone from Afghanistan. The incident began when two RPGs were fired at a Finnish vehicle at 10:50 PM local time. As the situation continued, about 20 Finnish peacekeepers fired warning shots in the direction of the attackers, Härkönen said. The incident ended when the attackers fled under cover of darkness. After the attack, the peacekeepers returned to the peacekeepers’ main camp 40 kilometres away, and an investigation into the attack began as soon as the sun came up.

#2: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has reportedly killed 45 security personnel in Waziristan, while 34 extremists have been killed across the region in the last 24 hours.According to a television report, helicopter gunships pounded military hideouts in South Waziristan killing at least 26 Taliban fighters besides injuring many others.Officials said militant hideouts were targeted in Spina Tigha and Makeen areas of South Waziristan.Meanwhile, in North Waziristan around 600 extremists attacked a check post in Upper and Lower Kofar. The casualties are yet to be verified, Xinhua reported.

#3: A suicide bomber killed two accomplices late on Monday when his suicide vest accidentally exploded as he was preparing to attack foreign forces near Delaram district in southwestern Nimroz province, the interior ministry said in a statement.

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