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


Saturday, November 14, 2009

War News for Saturday, November 14, 2009

Iraqis Claim Torture by British Soldiers: Ministry

Russian Deal on Afghan Supply Route Not a Deal Yet:

Russian says troops kill 20 militants in Chechnya


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A magnetic bomb stuck to a civilian car parked in front of the house of its owners blew up Friday evening in New Baghdad, eastern Baghdad, causing only material damages to the car.

#2: A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi police patrol wounded two policemen in eastern Baghdad, police said.

#3: Gunmen in a speeding car shot dead a policeman and his brother in northern Baghdad's Shaab District on Friday night, police said.

#4: Gunmen in a speeding car shot and wounded the interior ministry's economic crime unit chief, Brigadier General Wadhah Nasret, in central Baghdad on Friday, police said


Diyala Prv:
#1: Two policemen were wounded in clashes that erupted between the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army in the district of Baaquba on Friday, a security source in Diala said. “Clashes broke out on Friday in the area of al-Ghalibiya, Baaquba, between personnel from the Diala Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit and Iraqi army soldiers.

#2: Four people were wounded when a bike bomb went off near a cafĂ© in central Baaquba city on Friday, a security source in Diala said. “The number of casualties from the explosive bike attack is initial,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He did not give further details.


Iskandariya:
#1: A police force detained a man who was trying to wage an attack inside al-Iskandariya souk (outdoor market) north of al-Hilla city, with his shoes that contained TNT, according to the Babel police chief. “The police arrested a terrorist who carried a bag with a pair of shoes inside containing TNT and a timer,” Maj. General Fadel Raddar told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Kirkuk:
#1: One civilian man was killed by an unidentified gunman in central Kirkuk on Saturday, according to a source from the city’s Joint Coordination Center. “An unidentified man opened fire from his gun at a local resident in the Grand Souk (outdoor market) near al-Shohadaa bridge in central Kirkuk, killing him instantly,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Police patrols from the Azadi police station who rushed to the scene found out that Jumaa Mohammed, born in 1973, a local resident of al-Shurja area, was shot down by an unidentified gunman who managed to escape to an unknown place,” he added.


Mosul:
#1: Unidentified gunmen shot down a 13-year-old Christian boy in eastern Mosul city and escaped to an unknown place on Friday, a Ninewa police source said. “The boy was playing near his Christian family’s house in al-Tahreer neighborhood, eastern Mosul, when the gunmen attacked him,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol wounded three soldiers in Garma, 30 km (20 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A suicide bomber has attacked a police checkpoint in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Saturday, killing at least five people, officials said. Unconfirmed reports put the death toll at seven with at least 25 others injured. Local media said a car laden with explosives had been driven into the checkpoint in the Pushta Khara area. Government official Sahibzada Muhammad Anis said the car exploded as police went to search it, AP news agency said.

#2: Pakistan's security forces killed seven militants during the last 24 hours in the Taliban strongholds of South Waziristan tribal agency, the army said in a daily press release on Saturday. The army said four troops were injured in clashes with militants as the operation in the northwest tribal area steadily progressed towards the Taliban base in South Waziristan.

#3: Four Taliban militants and three civilians were killed as a clash erupted between Taliban militants and government troops in Herat province, west of Afghanistan, a local official said Saturday. "The clash erupted Friday night when Taliban attacked a patrol team of international troops from a house in Shindand district and the troops returned fire killing four rebels," Lal Mohammad Omarzai, the governor of Shindand, told Xinhua. Three more civilians including a man from the same house were killed and three children got wounded, Omarzai added.

#4: Afghan and the NATO-led forces eliminated seven Taliban insurgents and detained three others in Wardak province, 40 km west of the capital city of Kabul, a private television channel reported Saturday. The joint operation was carried out in Nurkh district on Friday when a group of militants were poised to attack a police checkpoint, as a result seven Taliban fighters were killed, the Tolo television said in its news bulletin.

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