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


Friday, November 20, 2009

War News for Friday, November 20, 2009

CIA Chief Panetta meets Zardari, Gilani:


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A bomb wounded nine people when it exploded inside a popular restaurant in the southern district of Doura in Baghdad on Thursday, police said.


Mosul:
#1: Unidentified gunmen opened fire at a civilian man on al-Ma’ash souk (outdoor market) in western Mousl city, killing him instantly and escaping to an unknown place.

#2: Meanwhile, the same source added that “a civilian man carrying an Egyptian passport was stabbed to death by an unidentified man on al-Arba’a souk in central Mosul.

#3: Two policemen were wounded on Friday in a bomb blast in western Mosul, according to a security source. “An improvised explosive device went off on Friday (Nov. 20) targeting a police vehicle patrol in Nables intersection in western Mosul, injuring two policemen,”



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle killed 16 people, including two children and a policeman, and wounded at least 23 others Friday in a busy city square in western Afghanistan, officials said. Provincial Gov. Rohul Amin said the blast occurred about 55 yards (50 meters) from his compound in a crowded square in Farah. Amin said the 16 killed included two children. Dr. Shir Agh Asas at the hospital in Farah city said several children also were among the wounded. A police officer also died.

#2: Also Friday, three civilians were wounded by a roadside bomb in Khost province, according to Wazir Pacha, deputy police chief of Khost.

Three civilians were killed and three others were injured as their car hit a roadside bomb in Khost city capital of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, police said. "Three civilians were killed and three more wounded as the vehicle they riding in hit a roadside bomb along the road in Gulzad Aka area of Khost city in the wee hours of Friday," said Guldad, the chief of criminal investigation department of Afghan National Police in the province.

#3: Separately, NATO said Afghan and international forces killed a man in Takhar province in northern Afghanistan on Friday believed to be an operative with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan who was responsible for financing militant activities and transporting foreign fighters into the region. The man was killed during a search of a compound in rural Bangi district, it said.

#4: A U.S. drone fired two missiles at a compound being used by suspected Taliban militants in a village near Mir Ali in North Waziristan, according to two intelligence officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information. The compound was destroyed and eight bodies were pulled from the rubble, the officials said, adding that two other suspected militants were wounded.

#5: officials said five Pakistani troops and six militants were killed in a gunbattle at a security outpost in the Bajur tribal region — the site of a military campaign against Taliban militants that ended with a declaration of victory in March. The fighting broke out after militants ambushed the outpost near the village of Chinar with rockets and gunfire, according to local administrator Ghulam Sadullah Khan.

#6: Two police officers were killed and four others wounded when a remote-controlled bomb destroyed their vehicle in Peshawar early Friday, said city police Chief Liaquat Ali Khan.

A roadside bomb killed three police officers and wounded six early Friday in Pakistan's troubled north-western city of Peshawar, police said.The casualties occurred when a police vehicle on patrol was hit by a remote-controlled bomb in the Yakka Toot neighbourhood. 'Two policemen died at the scene while one more died in the hospital,' police officer Abdul Qadir said.

#7: Afghan parliament member Abdul Rasoul Sayaf Friday escaped a roadside bomb attack in capital city Kabul, but his four bodyguards were killed and six injured.


MoD: Sergeant Robert Loughran-Dickson

DoD: Spc. Joseph M. Lewis

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