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, June 14, 2007

Security Incidents for Thursday, June 14, 07



Baghdad:
#1: Several mortar rounds landed inside and near Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, home to Iraq's parliament and the U.S. embassy. Reuters reporters saw several sources of smoke billowing into the sky but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

A witness inside the zone, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his job, said about half a dozen mortar rounds fell in the area. The U.S. military said it had no immediate information about the attack. At least one rocket also fell near the entrance to the Rasheed Hotel, about 150 yards from Iraq's parliament. Scattered, broken concrete littered the area. Several military and plainclothes officials were gathered around the impact site, wearing rubber gloves and sifting through rubble. There was no evidence of any casualties.

#3: Around 12 pm , random fire took place in Risala neighborhood ( west Baghdad) injuring three residents in the area.

#4: Around 12.30 pm, seven mortars hit Nahrawan district ( south of Baghdad) without having casualties recorded.


Diyala Prv:
#1: News was on TV telling that the head of Diyala university disappeared in ambiguous situations while he made a phone call with us telling that he is in Calar in Suleimania governorate ( 331 km north of Baghdad) looking for security and peace as he is displaced from his city ( Baquba) and informing us that 12 lecturers were killed from Diyala university and 44 other lecturers transferred to other universities in the south and north seeking for safe.

Khalis:
#1: "Unknown armed men blew up Imam Ali Kamal al-Din Bin Imam Moussa al-Kazem shrine on Wednesday night in Thuaaylab town, north of Khalis district," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "The gunmen planted a number of high-explosive bombs around the shrine and blew it up, bringing down the shrine's dome," he noted, adding no further details on casualties

Muqdadiya:
#1: Fierce clashes flared up on Thursday between gunmen believed to belong to al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State in Iraq armed group on one hand and Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's al-Mahdi army fighters on the other in central Muqdadiyah district, local residents said. "The clashes erupted in central Muqdadiyah, near al-Askari neighborhood, Blouz and al-Jazeera regions and locals kept indoors," the residents told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). No comments were made by the Iraqi police on the clashes.


Iskandariya:
#1: One of those mosques, which had been only partly destroyed, was a target again Thursday, police said. Around 4 a.m., attackers broke into the Hateen mosque in Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, and planted bombs inside. Flames from a huge explosion destroyed most of the building, and a woman and child in a nearby apartment were wounded, an Iskandariyah police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

#2: Gunmen also tried to storm the nearby al-Mustafa mosque, and exchanged fire with guards before Iraqi soldiers arrived and stopped them, police said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.


Mahaweel:
#1: In Mahaweel, 35 miles south of Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on the al-Basheer mosque at dawn, police said. They forced guards to leave, then set fire to the mosque, a local police officer said on the same condition of anonymity. The building was partly damaged, he said.


Kut:
#1: The U.S. base in western Kut, Wassit province, came under mortar attack, eyewitnesses said on Thursday. "Five strong blasts were heard on Wednesday night because of attacks on the U.S. base near the city of Kut by mortar shells," an eyewitness from al-Shuhadaa neighborhood, east of Kut, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI)."U.S. choppers hovered over the area for an hour," the eyewitness also said, adding no further details.


Latifiya:
#1: One body was found with gunshot wounds and signs of torture in Latifiya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said


Basra:
#1: Police in the southern city of Basra said four people were killed and six wounded in attacks on the Kawaz, Othman, al-Abayshi and Basra Grand mosques on Wednesday, all involving rocket-propelled grenades that also damaged the buildings. Basra is Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad.

#2: Wednesday night and Thursday morning , the British bases in Basra were targets for indirect fires and RBG7 missiles ,but no casualties recorded


Abu Ghrib:
#1: Around 9 am. bombs were planted inside Risala police station in Abu Ghraib ( 20 km west of Baghdad) which was empty as it is under construction and it is fully destroyed .


Balad:
#1: Gunmen killed two farmers and wounded another three near Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Riyadh:
#1: A suicide bomber wounded three policemen and three soldiers in the town of Riyadh, 60 km (40 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, police said


Kirkuk:
#1: Six Iraqis were seriously wounded in a suicide attack Thursday north-west of Kirkuk city, Iraqi Independent News Agency reported citing an official source in Kirkuk police. The attacker attempted to enter the Kirkuk municipality building in the afternoon. When the security gourds stopped him for inspection, he blew himself up injuring three policemen, two national security guards and one civilian, the source added.


Mosul:
#1: Four bodies were recovered from different areas of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said

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