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, September 3, 2009

War News for Thursday, September 03, 2009

The British MoD is reporting the death of an ISAF soldiers in an IED attack in the Babaji district, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, September 2nd.

The Washington Post is reporting the deaths of two U.S. soldiers in a vehicle rollover accident in an undisclosed location in Diyala Province on Tuesday, September 1st.


Iraq August oil exports down:

Czech to Send Additional Forces to Afghanistan:

G.O.P. Support May Be Vital to Obama on Afghan War:

Medical Marijuana Finds a Mellow Audience in Md. (what the hell I'll post some good news for a change. -- whisker)


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: One policeman on Wednesday was injured when an explosive charge targeted his patrol vehicle in downtown Baghdad, according to a security source. “An improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near St. Peter Paul Church on al-Sinaa St. while a police patrol vehicle was passing the location,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Wednesday An improvised explosive device (IED) on Wednesday went off in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, leaving a number of casualties, according to eyewitnesses. “This evening, an explosive device hit a civilian vehicle in al-Bayaa area, southwestern Baghdad, leaving a number of casualties,” an eyewitness told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Wednesday Two policemen on Wednesday were injured when an explosive device went off in the capital Baghdad, according to a security source. “This evening, an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in al-Aamel neighborhood, southwestern Baghdad, while a police patrol vehicle was passing the location,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diyala Prv:
#1: Iraqi police say a car bomb apparently targeting the leader of the country's largest Sunni political party has wounded four people northeast of Baghdad. The politician escaped unharmed.
Police say the car, parked near a restaurant in the city of Baqouba, exploded two minutes after a convoy passed by with the leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party Osama al-Tikriti and other officials.
None of the officials were hurt. The wounded were civilian bystanders in the area.

At least two people were killed and 10 others injured on Thursday in a car bomb explosion outside a restaurant in the city of Baquba, the capital of Iraq's Diyala province, a provincial police source said. "A booby-trapped car parked outside the Rukn al-Aza'im restaurant in central Baquba detonated and killed at least two people and wounded 10 others," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. He said that the police believed the restaurant apparently was targeted by extremists because it was opened despite Muslim's fast time from dawn to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan, the source added.


Mosul:
#1: Unknown gunmen on Wednesday killed a car mechanic near his house in eastern Mosul, according to a local security source. “The gunmen opened fire on the victim near his house in al-Qadissiya neighborhood, eastern Mosul, while he was leaving in his car,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Two Iraqi servicemen and a civilian on Wednesday were injured when two explosive charges went off in separate incidents in Ninewa’s city of Mosul, according to a local security source. “This afternoon, an improvised explosive device (IED) hit an Iraqi army patrol vehicle in al-Islah al-Ziraee neighborhood, western Mosul, wounding two patrolmen,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Wednesday “Meanwhile, another IED exploded at the same time near an army patrol in al-Yarmuk neighborhood, western Mosul, wounding a civilian who was close to the scene of the blast,” the source added.

#4: One girl was killed and her mother was wounded by gunmen in Mosul, a source from the Ninewa province’s police said Wednesday. He said that police forces seized a civilian corpse in a separate incident the city.“Gunmen broke into a house today at the al-Rifaq neighborhood, northeastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.“The armed men used pistols with silencers to shoot the girl and her mother,” he said.

#5: In a separate incident, the same source said that a corpse of a civilian was found in western Mosul.“Signs of gunshots were found on the body,” he said.


Tal Afar:
#1: Police said a militant shot and killed a man and his wife in their home in Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, on Wednesday. When Iraqi security forces arrived on the scene, the militant detonated an explosive vest and killed himself, wounding 10 members of the security forces


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: One gunman was killed and two civilians were wounded Thursday in a bomb explosion in southern Ramadi city, according to a security source. “The gunman was trying to plant a bomb Thursday morning (Sept. 3) on al-Eishreen street, southern Ramadi, when it went off, killing him and injuring twp passing civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: An attack on Wednesday by a suicide bomber riding a motorbike wounded four policeman and one civilian outside the home of a police officer in Ramadi, 100 km (62 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Three militants were killed and 11 others arrested in ongoing search and clearance operations in northwest Pakistan during the last 24 hours, an army statement said Thursday. Local Lashkar killed three militants in exchange of fire in Tutan Banda area of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), according to the Inter Services Public Relations. Security forces arrested 11 militants including a Taliban commander Dawanoor in Swat in NWFP. Another commander Safiullah voluntarily surrendered to security forces.

#2: Five Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were killed on Thursday as their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Paktia province of eastern Afghanistan, an ANA spokesman in the province said. "The incident occurred at around 9 a.m. local time in Barmali district when ANA unit was on routine patrol by their vehicle," Sahatgul Hotak told Xinhua. Hotak added that another soldier got wounded in the incident.

#3: The spokesman for Khost provincial administration, Kochai Nasiri, told Xinhua that two militants were killed and one of them got wounded by police as the militants attack a police checkpoint in Sabari district on Thursday.

#4: Two more militants were injured as the mine planted by them exploded prematurely in the same district, Nasiri added.

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