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


Saturday, September 29, 2007

War News for Saturday, September 29, 2007

MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Task Force Lightning Soldier by enemy gunfire in Diyala province, Saturday, September, 29th, 2007.

MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier in a small arms fire attack in a southern neighborhood of Baghdad on Saturday, September 29th., 2007.



Security incidents:


Baghdad:
#1: In central Baghdad, gunmen opened fire at an Iraqi checkpoint, killing one civilian and wounding four others, police said.

#2: The Iraqi army and gunmen clashed in Amin square in central Baghdad wounding four civilians, police said.

#3: U.S. forces killed one gunman and detained eight others on Saturday during operations across Iraq.

#4: A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was killed during a small arms fire attack while conducting combat operations in a southern section of the Iraqi capital Sept. 29.

#5: Gunmen opened fire targeting civilians in Mansour neighborhood west Baghdad around 2,00 pm killing a civilian and injuring another.

#6: A civilian was killed and 4 wounded when a mortar shell hit Abo Desheer neighborhood south Baghdad around 4,00 pm.

#7: 2 civilians were killed and 8 others wounded when an IED exploded targeting an American convoy in New Baghdad east Baghdad around 5,00 pm

#8: Police found 4 unidentified bodies in Baghdad today. All the bodies were found in Karkh, the western side of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (1 body in Mansour, 1 body in Hurriyah, 1 body in Bayaa and 1 body Amil.)


Diyala Prv:
#1: A Task Force Lightning Soldier was killed by enemy gunfire in Diyala province, Saturday.


Jbela:
#1: Policemen defused several bombs in hand-held torches after one detonated wounding four people in Jbela, 65 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.


Hilla:
#1: Gunmen killed a man in southern Hilla on Friday, police said.

#2: Gunmen shot a member of the disbanded Ba'ath party on Friday south of Hilla, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.


Diwaniya:
#1: A body was found with gunshot wounds on Friday in southern Diwaniya, 180 km (112 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

#2: The Multi-National Forces' Echo base was rocketed in the predominantly Shiite city of Diwaniya, a police source said on Saturday. "The Polish forces' Echo base was attacked, today at dawn, with 12 Katyusha rockets," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The source who could not say if there were casualties among the Polish soldiers added "Polish forces' helicopters flew over the area following the attack." This is the second attack on the base in as many days.

#3: A U.S. soldier was killed on Saturday when mortars fell near a vehicle patrol in Dalouiya, north of Baghdad, an Iraqi police source said. "A U.S. soldier was killed, this afternoon, when three mortar shells fell near a U.S. vehicle patrol near the police department in Dalouiya district," the source, who requested anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The source added "the U.S. forces fired back toward the nearby farms, setting some orchards ablaze." "A U.S. copter was seen landing near Dalouiya police department to remove the soldier's body," the source added.


Jurf al-Sakhar:
#1: Insurgents militants attacked Sunni Arab tribes working with U.S. forces on Friday in Jurf al-Sakhar, 85 km (53 miles) south of Baghdad, wounding six, police said.

The spokesman of Babil province police Capt. Mothanna Ahmed said that 6 members of the awakening council of the north of Babil province were injured when they were attacked by gunmen in Jurf Al Sakar area north of Babil today morning.


Samarra:
#1: Late Friday, the U.S. military handed over nine decomposing bodies to a hospital in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, according to a police official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. The young men were insurgents killed by U.S. forces, he said, adding that U.S. military officials told the hospital to expect at least 15 more bodies in the coming days. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Hawija:
#1: Hawija police chief's assistant died from wounds after roadside bomb targeted his patrol in Hawija, 70 km (43 miles) southwest of Kirkuk city, police said.


Mosul:
#1: Three Iraqi soldiers and three civilians died Saturday when a suicide truck bomber detonated his explosives as Iraqi forces chased the speeding vehicle near Mosul, an army officer said. Acting on a tip, a team of Iraqi soldiers tried to intercept the suicide driver as he was heading west from Mazra village toward Mosul..About 9 a.m., the soldiers fired on the pickup and thought they hit the driver, the officer said on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisal. But as the Iraqi Humvee neared the truck, the driver detonated his explosive payload. In addition to the six dead, 17 people near the blast were wounded.

#2: Also Saturday, drive-by gunmen killed a Sunni sheik near his home in Mosul's Mithaq neighborhood, said police spokesman Abdul Karim al-Jbouri. Sheik Ghanim Qassim was a mosque preacher and member of Mosul's edict commission, a religious rule-making body.

#3: Al-Jbouri also said a 50-year-old journalist visiting his brother in the Bab al-Baidh neighborhood in central Mosul was killed about 9:30 a.m. when he was caught in a mortar attack. Abdul-Khaliq Nasir, who worked for Um al-Rabyain, a local newspaper, until it ceased operations about six months ago because of security concerns

#4: "Unknown gunmen shot and killed Sheikh Azhar Ahmed Hussein, Imam of al-Sahabah mosque, in 17 Tammouz neighborhood, western Mosul," Brigadier Abdul Karim al-Juburi told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
#5: A half an hour later, an armed group attacked and killed Sheikh Salim Shit Mohammed, Imam of Mahmoud al-Sadeq mosque, in al-Tahrir neighborhood, southeastern Mosul, Brigadier al-Juburi also said.


Hamdaniya:
#1: A car bomb targeting a police patrol killed at least four policemen and wounded 16 civilians in Hamdaniya, 30 km (20 miles) east of the northern city of Mosul, police said.



Afghanistan:
#1: A suicide bomber wearing an Afghan army uniform set off a huge explosion Saturday while trying to board a military bus in the capital, killing 30 people, most of them soldiers, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility. The blast, which also injured 30 people

#2: Four Red Cross employees who had been kidnapped earlier this week were freed in good health Saturday, Afghan officials said

#3: An ISAF servicemember was killed today during combat operations in eastern Afghanistan.

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