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


Thursday, September 2, 2010

War News for Thursday, September 02, 2010

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 31st.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, September 1st.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, September 2nd.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, September 2nd.


Near Kandahar, the Prize Is an Empty Town


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: One civilian was killed and three others were wounded in a sticky bomb explosion in southeastern Baghdad, a security source said on Wednesday. “A bomb, stuck to a civilian car, went off in al-Baladiyat region, southeastern Baghdad, killing an employee, injuring three others and damaging a number of nearby cars,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Two civilians were wounded on Wednesday in an improvised explosive device explosion in eastern Baghdad, according to a security source. “The bomb exploded near al-Awali marketplace in al-Dakhel neighborhood in Sadr City, eastern Baghdad,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: A policeman was killed and two others were wounded by when an adhesive bomb stuck to the policeman's car detonated in Kadhemiyah neighborhood in northwest Baghdad around 7:30 a.m.


Diyala Prv:
#1: Two policemen were killed on Wednesday in a bomb blast in northeast of Baaquba, director of al-Saadiya district said. “An explosive charge went off on Wednesday afternoon on the main street in al-Saadiya district, in Khanaqin, northeast of Baaquba, targeting a police vehicle patrol, killing two policemen,” Ahmad al-Zarkoushi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Hilla:
#1: One Iraqi soldier was killed and another was injured while trying to defuse a roadside bomb in the city of al-Hilla Thursday, security sources said. The bomb exploded while the soldiers were attempting to defuse it. The incident took place in the area of Jarf al-Saghr in al-Hilla, some 100 kilometres south of Baghdad.


Amarra:
#1: The headquarters of the Iraqi army 10th division in the northwest of Amara city was hit with five Katyusha rockets, without causing any casualties. “The headquarters, 10 km northwest of Amara city, was hit with the rockets late yesterday night,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Thursday. He explained that the rockets were launched from an area around 5 km south of Amara.


Basra:
#1: Unknown people threw an active grenade on the house of the deputy dean of the fine arts school in Basra city, causing no casualties. “The attack occurred late yesterday night in al-Jibliya area of Basra,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Thursday.


Tuz Khurmato:
#1: Gunmen attacked a government-backed Sunni militia checkpoint and shot dead one member in Tuz Khurmato, 170 km (105 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Baiji:
#1: Gunmen attacked a government-backed Sunni militia checkpoint late on Wednesday, killing two members and wounding five others in Baiji, 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Mosul:
#1: Gunmen kidnapped and killed a taxi driver in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. The attackers dumped the driver's body in a cemetry.

#2: A roadside bomb wounded an Iraqi soldier when it exploded near his patrol in western Mosul, police said.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Gunmen sprayed municipal officer Farouq al-Gertani's car with bullets, wounding him and killing two of his bodyguards, including his brother, near the town of al-Mashahda, north of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Coalition troops in southeastern Afghanistan fought off insurgents after a failed assault on a combat outpost on Thursday. The incident occurred in the Bermel district of Paktika province after a failed attack. The fighting led to the deaths of at least 20 insurgents. Insurgents fired small arms and used indirect fire directed against Combat Outpost Margah. Soldiers shot back with mortars and small arms fire and called for air support. The aircraft, from Task Force Viper, killed the insurgents in two separate passes over the area.

#2: An apparent air strike by foreign forces killed 10 election campaign workers in Afghanistan's north on Thursday, a government spokesman said, and NATO-led forces said they were investigating the incident. Thursday's attack happened in the Rostaq district of Takhar, a relatively peaceful province in the north near Tajikistan, said a spokesman for the provincial governor, unlike areas in the south and east where the resurgent Taliban are mostly active. Spokesman Faiz Mohammad Tawhidi said the candidate, Abdul Wahid, and some of his supporters were wounded in the air strike, which Tawhidi said included two helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft. Tawhidi initially said six people were killed but later said the toll had risen to 10. He said he had been told of the strikes by security officials.

#3: Thousands of Shiite Muslims, thumping their chests and crying, mourned Thursday at funeral prayers for victims of a triple bombing that heaped more tragedy on Pakistan, which is already struggling to cope with devastating floods. The blasts that targeted a Shiite ceremony late Wednesday in this eastern city were the first major attacks since flood waters tore through the country over the past month, destroying or damaging more than one million homes and prompting a major international relief effort that continues to struggle with the scale of the destruction. At least 35 people were killed and 250 wounded in the attacks on a street procession marking the death anniversary of caliph Ali, one of Shiite Islam's most respected holy men. Two of the blasts were apparently suicide bombs.

#4: Two more NATO tankers were attacked in two separate incidents in Mastung and Khuzdar on Wednesday. According to sources, a tanker, carrying logistic support for NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan, was heading towards Kandahar from Karachi when some unidentified armed men opened fired on it on the national highway in Mastung. Resultantly, the driver received bullet wounds and the assailants managed to escape from the scene. Separately in Wadh, unidentified men intercepted a NATO tanker and took the driver and the cleaner hostage at gunpoint. The attackers sprinkled petrol on the tanker and set it on fire.

#5: ISAF troops killed two insurgents in an attack in southeastern Paktika province on Wednesday, the coalition said.

#6: ISAF forces killed several insurgents in air strikes in southern Uruzgan province on Wednesday, ISAF said.

#7: A roadside bomb killed four members of a pro-government militia in northern Kunduz province, the provincial police chief said.


DoD: Capt. Dale A Goetz

DoD: Staff Sgt. Jesse Infante

DoD: Staff Sgt. Kevin J. Kessler

DoD: Staff Sgt. Matthew J. West

DoD: Pfc. Chad D. Clements

DoD: Sgt. Joseph A. Bovia

DoD: Lance Cpl. Cody A. Roberts

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

US troops mark shift in Iraq mission.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kro4sko4XpA