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 24, 2011

War News for Thursday, March 24, 2011

The British MoD is reporting the deaths of two British ISAF soldiers from an IED blast in the Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, March 23rd. Here's the ISAF release.

The DoD is reporting a new death unreported by the military. Petty Officer 1st Class Vincent A. Filpi III died from a non-combat related incident aboard on the USS Enterprise on Tuesday, March 22nd. He was supporting OEF.


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: One civilian was killed and seven more were wounded in an explosive device blast in southern Baghdad, according to a security source. “An improvised explosive device went off on Wednesday (March 24) in al-Ariefiya street in Jisr Diala region, southern Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding seven, who were carried to al-Zaafaraniya hospital for treatment,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Two civilians were wounded in northern Baghdad on Wednesday by an improvised explosive device, a security source said. “The bomb exploded near al-Nadaa mosque in al-Waziriya region, northern Baghdad, injuring two civilians, who were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: An employee of the electricity ministry was killed and two more were wounded in a sticky bomb explosion in northern Baghdad, a security source said Wednesday. “A bomb, attached to a civilian vehicle, went off in al-Houriya city, northern Baghdad, killing the employee and injuring two,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#4: An official in the Municipalities Ministry was killed by armed men while he was driving his car in Baghdad's northeastern Sadr City slum, an Interior Ministry source said.

#5: Major General Ahmed Obeidi, head of the 6th Iraqi Army Division, died in a hospital on Tuesday from wounds sustained on Sunday when gunmen shot at his car in Palestine Street, northeastern Baghdad, an Iraqi army source said.


Mussayab:
#1: Two policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol went off in Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Two civilians were wounded on Wednesday by a double explosion in central Kirkuk, a police officer said. “Two explosive charges went off on Wednesday evening (March 23) targeting an emergency police vehicle patrol on the Baghdad road near al-Hajja Sabriya mosque, central Kirkuk, injuring two passing civilians,” Colonel Ghazi Ali told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

An improvised explosive device (IED) targeting a police brigadier general wounded two civilians when it went off in central Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, Kirkuk police operations room said. The operations room said a second IED targeting the same brigadier general wounded five firemen who were at the scene to extinguish a fire caused by the first explosion.


Mosul:
#1: Two policemen have been injured in an armed attack by unknown gunmen in western Mosul on Wednesday, a Ninewa security source said. “Two policemen have been injured on Wednesday by gunmen fire close to Al-Sham Gate in western Mosul,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A policeman was killed on Wednesday by gunmen in southwestern Mosul, a security source said. "Unknown gunmen opened fire on a policeman in front of his house in al-Maamoun neighborhood, southwestern Mosul, killing him instantly," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Federal police killed a civilian on Wednesday by mistake in western Mosul, according to a security source. "The police killed the civilian by mistake near a fuel station in al-Shefaa neighborhood, western Mosul," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The forces opened fire on the victim while attempting to enter the fuel station in the wrong way," he explained.

#4: One civilian was wounded on Wednesday in a bomb explosion in central Mosul, according to a security source. “An improvised explosive device went off on Wednesday afternoon (March 24) targeting a police vehicle patrol in al-Farouq street, central Baghdad, injuring a passing civilian,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The explosion left no casualties among policemen,” he added.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Two policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol went off in central Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Police in northwestern Pakistan say a suicide bomber has struck outside a police station, killing at least five people and wounding 25 others. Authorities said the blast Thursday killed one police officer and four civilians in Pakistan's Hangu district, near the Afghan border. The explosion destroyed part of the police station and damaged several surrounding houses.

#2: Authorities said three rockets hit different parts of Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, killing four people and wounding at least 15 others. A police officer was among the dead.

#3: In northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials say two roadside bombs killed a man near the provincial capital, Peshawar, while the second bomb targeted a police patrol, wounding at least six police officers.

#4: Hours earlier, in Bolan district east of Quetta, gunmen on motorcycles attacked three NATO oil tankers carrying fuel for troops in neighboring Afghanistan and set them ablaze before fleeing the scene. There are no reports of casualties.

#5: A NATO helicopter gunship inadvertently killed two civilians while attacking suspected insurgents in the northern province of Khost, NATO announced Thursday. The attack targeted a Haqqani network leader in Tere Zayi district on Wednesday, according to NATO.


DoD: Petty Officer 1st Class Vincent A. Filpi III

1 comments:

Dancewater said...

TOP HYPOCRISY OF THE GREAT 2011 ARAB REVOLT

Democratic Saudi Arabia. To have the holy grail of medievalism and repression - the House of Saud - voting in the Arab League to bring democracy to Libya while quashing any progressive moves inside the kingdom (and invading a neighbor) will forever live in infamy as the Top Hypocrisy of the Great 2011 Arab Revolt. King Abdullah's billionaire package of "reforms", ie bribes, essentially bolster the House of Saud's two strategic pillars; the security/repression establishment (60,000 new jobs for the Interior Ministry), and the religious clerics (more money to the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice). Even if they have successfully preempted the kingdom's "Day of Rage", this proves how scared they really are.