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, July 6, 2007

Security Incidents for Friday, July 06, 07


(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Corps - Iraq soldier from enemy action in a western neighborhood of Baghdad on Thursday, July 5th.

(2) The DoD is announcing a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Private 1st Class Andrew T. Engstrom, 22, of Slaton, Texas, died from a non-hostile, unspecified cause in the vicinity of Taji northwest of Baghdad on Wednesday, July 4th.

(3) The Associated Press is reporting that two NATO soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, July 4th, in separate engagements with militants ... this in addition to the six Canadian troops who died that day. The article cites a statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force for this information. It also cites the British Ministry of Defense as confirming that one of the two soldiers was British. No formal notice has been posted yet, however, at the British MOD website.

[All is confusion this morning with mis-linked notices on the ISAF site, etc. etc. ...]

(4) In its original press release for the death of Captain Sean Dolan on June 30th, the British Ministry of Defense reported that a U.S. soldier had been injured in the same attack and medically evacuated with Dolan to Camp Bastion in Helmand Province. It then went on to say that "The US soldier also sadly died later from his wounds." That last line has now been removed from the release. Apparently the US soldier lived, albeit with a limb amputation. That 'death' has now been removed from our database.

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Baghdad:
#1: One MNC-I Soldier died of wounds received during combat operations in western Baghdad on Thursday. The name of the Soldier is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release from the Department of Defense.

#2: Unidentified gunmen kidnapped a bank director and four of his bodyguards in western Baghdad, a police source said on Friday. "Unidentified gunmen in three civilian vehicles kidnapped the director of al-Salam bank in al-Aamel neighborhood in western Baghdad and four of his bodyguards on Thursday night," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency

#3: An explosive charge went of near a U.S. vehicle patrol in southeastern Baghdad, killing a civilian, injuring another and destroying a Hummer, a security source said on Friday. "A roadside bomb, planted in a main road in central Zaafaraniyah neighborhood, exploded targeting a U.S. military vehicle patrol, destroying a U.S. Hummer," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq

#4: At least five mortar shells crashed into Baghdad's fortified Green Zone Friday in an area near Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office and the US embassy. Five explosions rocked the area at around 2:00 pm (1000 GMT) during the capital's weekly vehicle curfew, which was declared to protect worshippers attending mosques for Friday prayers. It was not immediately clear if anyone was hurt in the blasts.

#5: Around 9 am , a roadside bomb exploded at Yarmouk neighborhood ( west Baghdad ) targeting an American patrol .No casualties recorded.

#7: Around 1 pm, mortars hit Karadat Mariam ( downtown Baghdad ) injuring two people.

#8: Around 4 pm, An American planes hit some targets at Al-Meda'ain area ( south of Baghdad ) destroying three houses there . No casualties are recorded.

#9: ( 5 ) Five unidentified dead bodies were found in Bagdad in the following neighborhoods: ( 2 ) two dead bodies were found in west Baghdad ( Karkh bank) ; 1 in Amil and the other in Bayaa. While the three others were found in east Baghdad ( Risafa bank); 1 in Waziriya , 1 in Ur and 1 in New Baghdad


Diyala Prv:
Baquba:
#1: An armed group wearing Iraqi military uniforms reportedly kidnapped nine Iraqi civilians in Baquba, capital of the north-eastern Diyala province, witnesses told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) on Friday. The kidnappers had set up a fake checkpoint between Qadaa al- Khales and al-Azeem town to waylay the group of nine.

#2: In another incident west of Baquba, which lies 60 kilometres north-east of Baghdad, an explosive charge placed on a main road wounded seven Iraqi servicemen travelling in a military vehicle


Samawa:
#1: Clashes between Shiite militants and police in the southern Iraqi town of Samawa have left five people dead, police said on Friday. A Samawa police captain, speaking on condition of anonymity, said fighting had broken out on Thursday when police attempted to crack down on armed members of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia. Fighting was continuing, he said. The militias planted bombs on the main roads around the Sadr office in the city using large quantities of explosives to prevent the police advance," the captain said, adding that police posts had been bombarded with mortars. Hillal al-Hatchami, a medic in the emergency room of the town's Muthanna Hospital, said at least one policeman and four civilians had been killed in the fighting and 26 people wounded.

Four Iraqi policemen killed and three civilians wounded by a roadside bomb in the southern Shi'ite city of Samawa, police said


Hilla:
#1: near the town of Hilla, a roadside bomb hit an Iraqi army patrol on the main road east of town on Friday and killed four soldiers, according to Lieutenant Haider al-Husseini.


Mahmoudiya:
#1: Two bodies were found in Mahmudiya, 30 km (20 miles) south of the capital, police said. They had been tortured and shot.

Yusufiya:
#1: One Iraqi army soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Yusufiya, 15 km (9 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

#2: A major pipeline carrying crude oil to Doura refinery in Baghdad was blown up just south of the Iraqi capital, leading to a huge fire in the pipeline, the official spokesman for the oil ministry said on Friday. The blast that occurred in Baghdad's southern outskirts of Yousifiyah caused a huge fire in the pipeline, while billows of black smoke rose over the location, the spokesman said


Samarra:
#1: An explosive charge went off on Friday afternoon in central Samarra, killing four security personnel and injuring three civilians, a police source said. "A roadside bomb was detonated on Friday afternoon in Bo Rahman region in central Samarra, near the Shiite shrine, targeting a security vehicle patrol and killing four force members on board and wounding three civilians," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq


Tikrit:
#1: Around 3 am, three schools were bombed by gunmen in Samar ( south of Tikrit) in order to be used by the Iraqi security forces to secure the place to rebuild Samara shrines.


Salman Pak:
#1: Gunmen killed a police commander from the Facilities Protection Service who was responsible for protection of electricity infrastructure in southern Baghdad, police said. The commander was killed in the town of Salman Pak near Baghdad on Thursday


Hawija:
#1: "Unidentified gunmen opened fire against Aamer Jabr, an Iraqi army soldier, on Friday morning in central al-Howija city, northwest of Kirkuk, killing him instantly," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq .


Kirkuk:
#1: A man and a woman wounded when Iraqi Army fired shots to clear traffic in central Kirkuk, police said

#2: Three Iraqi police wounded in a drive by shooting in central Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.

#3: the same source said that unidentified gunmen fired two missiles on the Kirkuk air base, one of them landed on a house behind al-Muhamadi mosque in central Kirkuk. "The attack left one civilian injured and damaged the house," he noted.

#4: The source also said that three policemen were injured on Friday afternoon when an explosive charge went off near their vehicle patrol in central Kirkuk. "The blast occurred in al-Korneish street near al-Thaleth Bridge in central Kirkuk," he explained, noting that police forces rushed to the scene and rushed the two wounded to a nearby hospital for treatment

#5: Around 11 .30 pm of Thursday night , two unknown missiles were launched upon Tisaeen Al-Jadeeda in downtown Kirkuk and one of them hit one of the houses damaging it and injuring one resident in the area. The missiles were launched from Urouba neighborhood, a witness said.

#7: Around 5.45 am , gunmen opened fire on some people at Abassiya village (outskirt of Kirkuk city) injuring one who was transferred to AlBakara military base for treatment.

#8: An Iraqi soldier was kidnapped four days ago while he was on his way from Kirkuk to Tuz Khurmatu ( south of Kirkuk) and only yesterday the police informed from the army about the kidnapped soldier after four days of his missing by a phone call from his mobile from the kidnappers who said that he is killed ,but the army and the soldier think it is a false alarm as they have no body till now. The soldier is a Kurd.


Mosul:
#1: Early this morning , gunmen attacked a Kurds family consists of a husband and wife at Al-Jazair neighborhood in downtown Mosul city killing both of them and ran away



Afghanistan:
#1: Two British troops have escaped with minor injuries following a suicide car bomb attack on their vehicle in Afghanistan. The attacker targeted a convoy of NATO-led forces near the capital Kabul, police have said. The bomber damaged both vehicles in the two-vehicle convoy in the Dah Sabuz district of Kabul province, said Zemrai Bashary, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

#2: A blast hit a military convoy in a town in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, and between two and five soldiers were killed, army officials said. Initial reports spoke of a suicide attack but the military were investigating whether in fact the blast was due to a roadside bomb. The attack occurred in Dir town in the North West Frontier Province, near the town of Malakand, in an area where sympathy for Islamist militants is strong

#3: Two NATO soldiers have been killed during an operation in eastern Afghanistan today. The Western military alliance says several other people, including Afghan troops and a civilian contractor, were also injured in the incident. However, no further details have been released about the location of the incident and what exactly happened.

#4: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's plane was fired on as it took off on Friday from a military airfield in Rawalpindi, an intelligence officer said, contradicting official denials. Musharraf's plane arrived safely in the southwestern town of Turbat, where the president visited flood victims. The military denied there had been any attack. But an intelligence officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there had been an unsuccessful attempt on Musharraf's life.

#5: Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops, using artillery and airstrikes, killed 33 Taliban fighters after the insurgents attacked a police checkpoint in southern Afghanistan, officials said Friday. The militants attacked two police vehicles overnight with gunfire and rocket propelled grenades. Coalition and Afghan forces responded in what the coalition described as a ''sparsely populated area'' in Uruzgan province. Gen. Zahir Azimi said 33 Taliban fighters were killed. The coalition reported ''no indications'' of civilian casualties from the fighting and said no coalition or Afghan forces were killed or wounded.

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