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, August 21, 2008

War News for Thursday, August 21, 2008

NATO is reporting the deaths of three ISAF soldiers in an IED attack in an eastern province of Afghanistan on Wednesday August 20th. No other details were released. The Washington Post reports that three Polish soldiers died in Ghazni province and a fourth soldier was wounded in the attack.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in a non-combat related injury in an eastern province of Afghanistan on Wednesday, August 20th. No other details were released. We assume this to be an American soldier.

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by the military. Lance Cpl. Travis M. Stottlemyer died in a non-hostile incident in Bahrain on Sunday, August 17th.

The Canadian DND is reporting the deaths of three ISAF soldiers in an IED attack on Highway 1 in Zharey District Kandahar Province on Thursday, August 21st. One other soldier was wounded in the attack.


U.S. military frees Reuters Iraq cameraman:

Nearly 40 dead in blasts near Pakistan ordnance plant:

Key U.S. Iraq strategy in danger of collapse:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Wednesday Police said they found three bodies in Baghdad.

#2: Two mortar shells hit the International Zone (IZ) in downtown Baghdad around 9:00 a.m. No casualties were reported.

#3: One civilian on Thursday was killed, and four others were wounded when a car bomb went off in the western part of Baghdad, said a source from the Iraqi police."One civilian today was killed, and four others were wounded when a car bomb detonated in al-Jameaa neighborhood, western Baghdad," the source told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq.


Tuz Khurmato:
#1: Gunmen killed a civilian and wounded two others when they opened fire on a group of young men playing football in Tuzkhurmato, 170 km (100 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Mosul:
#1: Police found three bodies in various parts of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad. One had been decapitated. Another was identified as the body of a policeman.

#2: Militants killed a policeman in a gun battle in western Mosul, police said.

#3: A policeman was wounded in clashes with gunmen in northern Mosul, police said.



Afghanistan:
#1: More than a dozen civilians have been killed in an air strike by U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan's eastern province of Laghman, two provincial officials said on Thursday. But the U.S. military said Wednesday's operation which also involved Afghan forces and air support had killed more than 30 insurgents. A military spokesman said he had no knowledge of non-combatant deaths.

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