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, June 11, 2010

War News for Friday, June 11, 2010

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, June 10th.

CNN is reporting the deaths of two American soldiers in a suicide car bombing in Diyala province, Iraq on Friday, June 11th. six additional soldiers were wounded in the attack. Six Iraqi civilians were killed and twenty two others were injured in the blast.

The AP is reporting the deaths of two American soldiers in an "explosion" in an unidentified location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, June 11th.


2 Danish soldiers bound for Afghanistan killed during shooting drill, 2 slightly injured:

NATO opens northern supply route to Afghanistan via Russia, Central Asia:

Foreign troops should leave Afghanistan: Hekmatyar:


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: An hour later, a roadside bomb exploded in an outdoor market in the predominately Sunni al-Dora district in southern Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 10 others, police officials in Baghdad said.

#2: On Thursday evening, at least four people were killed and 10 others wounded in a suicide car bombing in Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said. According to the official, the bomber struck a joint security checkpoint outside the predominantly Sunni district of Ameriya in the western part of the capital. He said among those killed was a local Sons of Iraq (SOI) leader, who officials believe was the target of the attack. Those killed and wounded include Iraqi police, army and SOI, he said.

#3: A roadside bomb targeted U.S. military convoy in Ghazaliyah area around 1:30 p.m. No information on casualties.

#4: A roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army patrol in Baghdad's southeastern suburb of Madaen, wounding three soldiers and two civilians, police said.


Diyala Prv:
#1: A suicide car bomb targeting a U.S. military patrol exploded in a busy outdoor market in Iraq's Diyala province around 8:30 a.m. Friday (1:30 a.m. ET), killing two U.S. soldiers and wounding six others, military officials said. The blast also killed six Iraqis and wounded 22 others, Iraqi police officials told CNN.


Yousifiya:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted U.S. military convoy in Yousfiyah area around 2:30 p.m. No information on casualties.


Taji:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted police in Taji north of Baghdad injuring four civilians and injuring two policemen.


Tikrit:
#1: At least three people were killed and 13 others wounded when a parked car bomb detonated in the city of Tikrit Thursday. According to police, the car was parked near a bakery and detonated shortly before midnight.


Kirkuk:
#1: Two bullet-riddled bodies were found on Friday in two separate areas in north of Kirkuk, a senior police officer said. “Policemen found early Friday (June 11) the two bodies in two separate areas in Jemn region in north of Kirkuk,” Brig. Sarhad Qader told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The bodies bore signs of gunshot wounds to the head,” he added.

#2: Gunmen shot dead a woman in southern Kirkuk late on Thursday, police said.


Mosul:
#1: “An IED went off near a federal police patrol in the western Mosul area of al-Zanjili. No casualties were reported,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: “Another blast was synchronized with the first one near an Iraqi army patrol at the security intersection in eastern Mosul but also left no casualties,” he added.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A volley of U.S. missiles killed 15 alleged militants in an extremist stronghold in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, the second such strike in less than 12 hours, officials said. Six missiles were fired in Friday's attack on a house in a village close to the border, two intelligence officers said. They were not authorized to give their names. Yousaf Khan, a government administrator in the region's main town of Miran Shah, said 15 alleged militants were killed.

#2: Late Thursday, two people were killed in another strike in North Waziristan. Officials did not say whether they were believed to be militants.

#3: A roadside bomb ripped through a mini bus in southern Afghanistan on Friday, killing nine civilians and wounding eight others, a provincial spokesman told AFP. The vehicle struck the bomb on the main highway in Maywand district of Kandahar after leaving the neighbouring province of Helmand, Zalmai Ayobi, Kandahar provincial spokesman, told AFP. "Nine civilians were killed and eight others were wounded," Ayobi said. Five of the wounded were in critical condition and were airlifted by NATO forces to a military hospital. Three other injured were taken to a local Kandahar hospital, he said.

#4: Also on Friday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Bagram Air Field north of Kabul. NATO confirmed that a rocket landed in a field inside the base but did not cause any injuries or damage. NATO said a second rocket landed outside the base.

#5: On Thursday in Ghazni province, also in the south, three Afghan policemen were killed when their vehicle hit a mine in the Qarabagh district, the Ministry of Interior said Friday. Also on Thursday, a private security company employee was killed in a mine explosion in the Ali Shir district of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan, the ministry said.

#6: In neighboring Zabul province, a suicide bomber dressed in a burqa detonated his cache of explosives in a shopping area in Shahjoy district, killing two civilians and wounding at least 16 others, said Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar, a spokesman for the provincial governor.


MoD: Private Jonathan Monk

DoD: Sgt. Erick J. Klusacek

DoD: Staff Sgt. Michael P. Flores

DoD: 1st Lt. Joel C. Gentz

DoD: Staff Sgt. David C. Smith

DoD: Senior Airman Benjamin D. White

DoD: Lance Cpl. Michael G. Plank

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