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


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

War News for Tuesday, November 10, 2009

NATO is reporting the death of an American ISAF service personal in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on presumably on Tuesday, November 10th.


Iraqi Cabinet approves Exxon Mobil-Shell oil deal:

Cop who killed five U.K. soldiers 'a hero' say locals:

What Drove Afghan Policeman to Kill UK Troops?

Two Czech elite troops sacked over Nazi symbols on their helmets:

Noam Chomsky & the WSM discuss politics over breakfast: (off topic but I like almost everything Chomsky writes. -- whisker)

Taliban vow tough guerrilla war in South Waziristan:

At Fort Hood, Some Violence Is Too Familiar:

TV footage shows Afghan insurgents with US ammo:


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A magnetic bomb stuck to a civilian car detonated in New Baghdad, eastern Baghdad, Monday afternoon injuring one civilian.


Diyala Prv:
#1: In Diyala, an anonymous provincial police source told Xinhua that two civilians were wounded when a motorcycle bomb exploded near a primary school in the al-Mu'alamin neighborhood in western the provincial capital city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad.


Salah al Din prv:
#1: Four policemen on Tuesday were killed or wounded in an armed attack in Salah al-Din, according to a local security source. “On Tuesday, unknown gunmen opened fire on a National Police checkpoint in al-Rawashed area (3 km west of Balad district) in Salah al-Din province,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.The blast killed two police personnel and seriously injured two others, the source added.

#2: Two policemen were killed when unknown gunmen opened fire on a police checkpoint in the Aziz Balad area, some 100 km north of Baghdad, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

#3: Separately, an Iraqi security force killed a suspected insurgent and detained eight people during a raid on the al-Mu'atasim area, some 110 km north of Baghdad, the source said.


Irbil:
#1: A captain from Kurdish security forces was killed by gunmen in central Arbil, a police source said on Monday. “Gunmen killed a Kurdish captain on Monday night (Nov. 9) in al-Mufti neighborhood in central Arbil,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: Three mortar shells hit central Mosul on Monday without causing casualties, a security source said. “Two mortar shells landed near the old jail region and Wadi Hajar in central Mosul, while the third shell hit al-Shaab school in the old jail region,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: One civilian was killed on Monday by gunmen in central Mosul, a police source noted. “Unknown gunmen shot and killed a greengrocer in al-Nabi Younes region in eastern Mosul on Monday (Nov. 9),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Ten people were killed and 15 wounded in a car bomb blast in the northwestern Pakistani town of Charsadda on Tuesday, police said. "We have reports of 10 people killed and 15 wounded," Malik Naveed, police chief for the North Western Frontier Province, told Reuters by telephone. "We are checking it now."

#2: Pakistan's security forces have taken full control of the town of Makeen, which is considered as the base headquarters of Taliban militants in the South Waziristan tribal agency, the army said Tuesday in a daily press release. The military said that the troops have killed nine more militants and apprehended one during the last 24 hours, bringing the total fatality to over 500, as the operation in the northwest tribal area steadily progressed towards the Taliban strongholds in South Waziristan.

#3: Two Afghan children were killed and over a dozen others of the same family were injured as a mortar mine fired by Taliban militants hit their house in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province, spokesman for provincial administration Hamidullah Zhawak said Tuesday. "A boy and a girl were killed and 13 other members of their family got wounded as a mortar shot by militants hit their house in Yaya Khil district Monday night," Zhawak told Xinhua. The incident occurred after heavy gun battle erupted between Taliban militants and security guards escorting a convoy of a road Construction Company in the area, he added.

#4: During an engagement between Afghan and Australian forces and insurgents yesterday morning (9 Nov 09), an Afghan man received a gunshot wound to his lower left leg.


MoD: Rifleman Philip Allen

MoD: Rifleman Samuel John Bassett

DoD: Spc. Tony Carrasco Jr.

DoD: Spc. Aaron S. Aamot

DoD: Spc. Gary L. Gooch Jr.

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