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, March 10, 2011

War News for Thursday, March 10, 2011

The DoD is reporting a new death unreported by the military. Pfc. Kalin C. Johnson died from a non-combat incident somewhere in Kandahar province, Afghanistan on Tuesday, March 8th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, March 9th.

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


Royal Irish Regiment soldier killed in Afghanistan - This was yesterdays ISAF release.


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A civilian man was killed in a blast from an improvised explosive device (IED) in northern Baghdad on Wednesday, a security source said. “An IED attached to a vehicle went off in the area of al-Taji, northern Baghdad, leaving its driver killed,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Five civilians were wounded on Wednesday by a bomb blast in central Baghdad, according to a security source. “An explosive charge went off this afternoon near Haidar Dabel restaurant in Karadat Mariyam region, central Baghdad, injuring five civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: A roadside bomb went off on Wednesday targeting a U.S. convoy in central Baghdad, a security source said. “The bomb exploded near the U.S. convoy in Bab al-Muaatham region near al-Midan square, central Baghdad,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “There is no word on casualties yet, but two vehicles were destroyed in the attack,” he added.

#4: One civilian was seriously wounded by a bomb explosion in Baghdad, a security source said on Wednesday. “An explosive device was detonated on Wednesday (March 9) targeting a civilian car in al-Doura region in Baghdad, injuring a citizen and damaging the car,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#5: "A roadside bomb went off on Thursday (March 10) on the highway in al-Doura region, southern Baghdad, targeting a federal police vehicle patrol, wounding four cops," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#6: "Another bomb exploded this morning in al-Ghazaliya region, targeting a police patrol, injuring two policemen and damaging their car," he continued.

#7: "An explosive charge exploded in al-Sidiya region, southern Baghdad, near a truck carrying concrete blocks," the source said, noting that two civilians were wounded in the attack.

#8: "The fourth blast occurred in Sheikh Omar region near the Civil Defense department, where five civilian were wounded."


Mosul:
#1: Crude oil flow from Iraq's northern oil fields to Turkey's export Ceyhan terminal will remain suspended for the next four to five days following a bomb attack on the export pipeline early Wednesday, an official with the state-run North Oil Company said Thursday. "We will need four to five days to repair the damaged part of the pipeline," the official said. The line carries crude oil from Iraq's Kirkuk and Kurdish oil fields to Turkey's Ceyhan in the Mediterranean. "The flow has been suspended since early Wednesday," the official, who preferred not to be named for security reasons, confirmed. The 1,000 kilometer-long pipeline was attacked and damaged near the city of Mosul in northern Iraq.

#2: (?) An explosive charge exploded on Thursday near a pipeline carrying oil to Syria in west of Mosul, according to a security source. "An improvised explosive device went off on Thursday morning (March 10) near a pipeline carrying oil in Ain Zala region in Zamar district, northwest of Mosul," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that the explosion damaged a nearby pipeline carrying water. "Pumping oil to Syrian did not stop, but pumping water to a village dtopped due to the explosion."


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Two civilians were killed and two more, from the same family, were wounded on Wednesday by gunmen in southeast of Falluja, a security source said. “An armed group attacked on Wednesday (March 9) a civilian house in al-Makheirja village, southeast of Falluja, where they threw a hand grenade inside the house, killing a man and a woman and injuring two from the same family,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: "Unknown gunmen opened fire on a civilian in al-Shuwersat region, central al-Karma district, eastern Falluja, killing him instantly," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: "Another civilian, working as a blacksmith, was killed by a sticky bomb in the industrial region, central al-Karma, eastern Falluja," he added.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A few dozen villagers shouted and protested in Afghanistan's main southern city on Thursday, accusing the police of killing five civilians overnight. Local government officials confirmed an incident in Pashmol but said it was a police operation targeting known insurgents and that the men who were killed had fired on the officers. A relative of two men who were detained in the incident overnight said that neither his relatives nor those who were killed were militants. "They were not involved in any kind of bad things," said Abdul Qadir. He said police barged into compounds and shouted for everyone to get on their knees. He was kneeling in his compound when he heard shots and then came outside to find the bodies.

#2: A suicide car bomber attack occured Wednesday night local time in Nangarhar province, east of Afghanistan, targeting the vehicles of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, according to a spokesperson of the provincial administration. "A suicide car bomber attack occurred around six PM local time, with the NATO-led ISAF vehicles as its target," Ahmed Zia Abdullazai, spokesperson of Nangarhar province told Xinhua. However, it caused no ISAF casualties except the bomber himself, Abdullazai said, adding that the incident is under investigation.

#3: At least one was killed and 14 others injured in a blast that occurred Thursday afternoon in Pakistan's southwest province of Balochistan, reported local Urdu TV channel Geo. According to the report, the blast took place around 3:40 p.m. in the Dera Murad Jamali district, east of Balochistan. A Frontier Corps patrolling vehicle happened to be passing by the site when the blast took place near a fuel station on a highway. It is not known yet whether there is any injury of security personnel.

#4: Early Thursday morning, in the neighboring district of Jafarabad, south of Dera Murad Jamali, a remote-controlled blast injured four people.

#5: Taliban militants killed two civilians for allegedly spying to government and foreign forces in Afghanistan's Nimroz province, some 790 km southwest of capital city of Kabul, police said Thursday. "Taliban rebels beheaded two innocent civilians in Khash Rod district on Wednesday," deputy provincial police chief, Mohammad Musa Rasouli told Xinhua. The insurgents abducted the ill-fated men few days ago and their beheaded bodies were found in Khash Rod district Wednesday evening, the official said.


DoD: Pfc. Kalin C. Johnson

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