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


Monday, September 19, 2011

War News for Monday, September 19, 2011

MNF-Iraq (OND) is reporting the death of a U.S. soldier from a non-combat related incident somewhere in northern Iraq on Sunday, September 18th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, September 18th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, September 17th.

NATO is reporting the death of another ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, September 18th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, September 18th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, September 19th.


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Three prisoners have been burnt to death and 30 others were seriously injured in a fire that broke out in a Baghdad prison on Monday, a security source reported.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Three policemen have been injured in an explosive charge blast against their patrol in Garma township of west Iraq’s Anbar Province on Monday, a security source reported. “An explosive charge blew up against an emergency patrol in Garma township of west Iraq’s Anbar Province on Monday, wounding 3 of its elements and causing damage to their vehicle,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: At least eight people were killed, including six policemen, after a Taliban suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden car into the home of a senior police official in Pakistan's commercial hub Karachi on Monday. The six policemen were guarding the home of Karachi's Senior Superintendent of Police Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam, who survived the attack, said police official Naeem Shaikh, adding that a woman and her son were also killed in the blast in which police said 300 kgs (136 lbs) of explosives were used.

#2: New Zealand troops from the provincial reconstruction team were doing a routine patrol in three light armoured vehicles (LAVs) when they were attacked shortly after midnight (8am NZT). Mr Key described the attack as "two-pronged'', with a roadside bomb followed by rocket-propelled grenade fire. None of the soldiers were injured, although one vehicle was damaged when it hit a bank as they retreated.

#3: At least six children were killed when a rocket exploded in northern Kunduz province, a provincial official and the Afghan interior ministry said.

#4: Afghan and coalition security forces killed a local Taliban commander and six other insurgents during an operation in eastern Nangarhar province on Saturday, ISAF said.

#5: A coalition air strike killed a local Haqqani network commander and three other insurgents in eastern Paktia province on Saturday, ISAF said

#6: Unknown armed men gunned down a security officer in Kunduz province Sunday evening, police said on Monday. "Unidentified armed men opened fire on Gul Mohammad, a police officer with counter-terrorism department in Khan Abad district, on Sunday evening and killing him on the spot," Sufi Habibullah, the police chief of Khan Abad district told Xinhua.


DoD: Staff Sgt. Michael W. Hosey

2 comments:

Dancewater said...

about that fire at a prison, from a picture caption:

A policeman in riot gear stands guard outside a prison in eastern Baghdad September 19, 2011. Six inmates were killed and 27 others injured after a fire broke out early on Monday at a prison in eastern Baghdad, police and hospital sources said. The reason of the fire was unknown. An Interior Ministry source said three inmates were killed and 30 wounded in the fire.
REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW DISASTER

Dancewater said...

A Million Iraqis Widowed During War

A staggering number of wives in Iraq lost their husbands in the years of violence following the U.S. invasion in 2003, a study released Sunday showed. The Los Angeles-based Relief International found that 1.5 million of the estimated 15 million Iraqi women are widows, and three out of every five of them were widowed during the war. The study warned that ignoring their suffering could lead them to prostitution, drugs, and terrorism. "The Iraqi state has neglected the widows with their enormous problems, and the solutions lie in the establishing of bodies to take care of and solve the problems of these women," the report said.