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


Wednesday, May 27, 2009

War News for Wednesday, May 27, 2009

MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier in a roadside bombing in an eastern neighborhood of Baghdad on Wednesday, May 27th. No other details were released.


May 25 airpower summary:

May 24 airpower summary:

Iraqi Kurdish oil exports to start Sunday:

Iraq oil exports increase in April:

Suicides continue to rise at Fort Campbell:

Civilians suffer in Pakistan army war on Taliban:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Around 3 p.m. a car bomb detonated in Mahmoudiyah town (south of Baghdad) on Tuesday. Three people were wounded.

#2: Around 9 p.m. a mortar round hit Al-Fidheiliya neighborhood in eastern Baghdad on Tuesday. Eight people were wounded.

#3: Two civilians were wounded on Wednesday in a bomb explosion in central Baghdad, a police source said. “An explosive charge, planted by unknown gunmen, went off Wednesday (May 27) in Sahet al-Houriya in central Baghdad, injuring two civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

A roadside bomb targeted the motorcade of a high ranking official in Karrada, central Baghdad at 9 a.m. Wednesday injuring two civilians and damaging one civilian car.


Iskandariya:
#1: One civilian was wounded when a car bomb went off to the north of Hilla city, a security source from Babel province’s police said on Tuesday. “The incident took place today at noon,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The car was parked near the Rafidain Bank branch at al-Iskandariya district, 50 km north of Hilla,” he said.


Abu Ghraib:
#1: Iraqi officials say at least 15 civilians have been wounded in a car bombing near a medical compound west of Baghdad. Police and hospital officials say the explosives-laden car was parked near a compound that houses several clinics in the town of Abu Ghraib. The officials gave the casualty toll on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Four civilians on Wednesday were killed and 10 others were wounded when a car rigged with explosives went off in the capital Baghdad, according to a police source. “This afternoon, a car bomb detonated near a popular market in Abu Ghraib area, western Baghdad, killing four civilians and injuring 10 others,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

A parked car bomb exploded in an open air marker in Abu Ghraib area just as a U.S. military convoy drove away, at around noon Wednesday. The explosion injured 15 civilians.


Mosul:
#1: Two policemen were wounded on Tuesday in a bomb explosion in western Mosul city, a police source said. “An improvised explosive device went off on Tuesday (May 26) targeting a police vehicle patrol in al-Shefaa neighborhood in western Mosul, injuring two policemen,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol killed one solider in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.

#3: A women was killed in cross fire between the Iraqi army and gunmen in Mosul on Tuesday, police said

#4: Gunmen shot dead a man in a drive-by shooting near his house in eastern Mosul, police said.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Four policemen were wounded on Wednesday in a roadside bomb explosion in eastern Falluja, a police source said. “An explosive charge went off on Wednesday (May 27) targeting a police vehicle patrol in Karamat al-Falluja district in eastern Falluja, injuring four policemen, including a captain,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Gunmen detonated a car bomb near police and intelligence agency offices in Lahore on Wednesday, killing about 30 people and wounding at least 250 in one of Pakistan's deadliest attacks this year, officials said. At least four men with rifles stepped from the car and opened fire on the intelligence agency building, then set off a massive blast when security guards returned fire, officials said. The spy agency and police building were both badly damaged. An AP reporter saw dozens of troops entering the spy agency building to supervise the rescue work, while gunshots were heard from inside the building even one hour after the blast.

#2: A roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan killed four civilians. The bomb struck the civilian's vehicle and also wounded three civilians inside in Zabul province, said Jalani Khan, a provincial police official. He blamed the Taliban for planting the bomb.

#3: The Afghan and US militaries said they killed four Al-Qaeda-linked militants and detained 10 others on Wednesday during operations against extremist insurgents. The suspects were killed when troops raided compounds looking for members of the radical Haqqani network in Logar province, south of the capital Kabul, they said in a joint statement. The ‘combined force raided a compound to capture a Haqqani commander responsible for planning improvised explosive device attacks and facilitating suicide bombers,’ it said.

#4: The US-led force said its troops killed an Afghan driver who ignored warnings to stop his vehicle when approaching soldiers in Khost on Tuesday.

#5: Unknown gunmen Wednesday ambushed and killed Mohammad Nadir, district chief of Omna, in eastern Afghan province of Paktika, said a statement of Interior Ministry.  

A roadside bomb killed a district chief and three of his sons on Wednesday in southeastern Paktika province, provincial police chief said.

#6: As many as 12 militants were killed in various areas of Swat in North West Frontier Province in the last 24 hours, the army said in a statement on Wednesday. One soldier lost his life and three other soldiers were injured in clashes with militants, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations Athar Abbas said in the statement.

#7: One Afghan civilian was killed and 11 more wounded when a missile landed in a farming area on Wednesday in eastern Kunar province, a provincial health official said.

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