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


Wednesday, February 23, 2011

War News for Wednesday, February 23, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED strike in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, February 22nd.


Reported security incidents

Al Nuaamaniya:
#1: Security forces on Tuesday foiled an attempt to blow up an army camp by a car bomb in north of Kut, a military source said. “A security force foiled an attempt to blow up al-Nuaamaniya military camp in north of Kut by a car bomb,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that the force seized a military bus carrying an amount of bombs before entering the camp.


Mosul:
#1: Seven people were killed in clashes between police and gunmen in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday, a security source said. Three policemen, a gunman and three civilians were killed when the clashes erupted in the western part of the city.

#2: Ten civilians, including women and children, were wounded in an explosive charge blast in eastern Mosul, a security source said. “An improvised explosive device went off in a market in al-Muthanna neighborhood, eastern Mosul, injuring ten people, including three women and three children,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Two Iraqi soldiers were killed in a bomb explosion in western Mosul, a security source said.“Two Iraqi soldiers were killed on Tuesday evening (Feb.22) by a bomb blast, placed in a refrigerator, in al-Harmat region, western Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Three soldiers were wounded on Tuesday in a bomb explosion in west of Anbar province, according to a security source. “An improvised explosive device went off on Tuesday (Feb.22) targeting an army vehicle patrol near al-Qaem hospital, west of Anbar, injuring three soldiers and damaging the vehicle,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A number of people were killed or wounded in two simultaneous explosions in central Ramadi on Tuesday, according to a security source. “Two bombs exploded simultaneously on Tuesday (Feb. 22) near al-Mustawdaa street in central Ramadi, leaving unspecified number of casualties,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Three Iowa National Guard soldiers were wounded Monday by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. The bomb exploded near the soldiers' armored truck during a morning patrol in Laghman Province, which is in eastern Afghanistan. The men all were taken to a military hospital at Bagram Airfield. Redell's father, Tim Redell, said the three soldiers were riding in an MRAP truck, a heavily armored vehicle designed to deflect bomb blasts. He said he had been told the soldiers were attacked with a large bomb, plus small-arms fire. He suspects the truck saved lives.

#2: Eight militants were killed when forces targetted their hideouts in Dabori village in upper part of Orakzai Agency on Tuesday, local sources said. The sources said the forces hit the hideouts after the militants attacked a security checkpost in the area. However, the forces successfully repulsed the attack. The sources said the forces launched operation after the incident and hit various hideouts. At least eight militants were killed in the attack. On the other hand, a militant commander identified as Ghuncha Gul committed suicide in Mishti area in lower part of Orakzai Agency early in the day.


DoD: Lance Cpl. Andrew P. Carpenter

DoD: Sgt. Robert C. Sisson Jr.

DoD: 1st Lt. Daren M. Hidalgo

5 comments:

The Wiz said...

Dancewater posted the following quote a couple of days ago;

This was a popular revolution driven by Egyptian nonviolence, not American violence.... The revolution has shaken every theory of democratization and political reform in the Middle East. ......The people, not an outside power, have brought democracy.

and then tried to claim she wasn't comparing Egypt to Iraq after I pointed out all pointed out that the two weren't comparable.

But the very article she linked to obviously compared the two.

Dancewater said...

*I* was not comparing, the person who was quoted was comparing.

And if you are going to quote a source, include the link.

Dancewater said...

• In March 2010 Secretary of "Defense" Robert Gates complained that "the general [European] public and the political class" are so opposed to war they are an "impediment" to peace.


• "Since both the US and France lost in Vietnam, then the 'fight for our freedom' must have been unsuccessful, and we must be under the occupation of the North Vietnamese Army. Next time you're out on the street and you see a passing NVA patrol, please wave and tell them Tim says hello." – Tim Moriarty


• The American Museum of History, on the Mall in Washington, DC: One of the popular exhibitions in recent years was "The Price of Freedom: Americans at War". This included a tribute to the "exceptional Americans [who] saved a million lives" in Vietnam, where they were "determined to stop communist expansion". In Iraq, other true hearts "employed air strikes of unprecedented precision".


The tyranny empire imposes on others it finally imposes on itself. The predatory forces unleashed by empire consume the host. – Chris Hedges

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The Wiz said...

And you posted it because you agreed with it

Dancewater said...

I am not in 100% agreement with everything I post - I post because I think it worthwhile to read or watch.

That has never been true of your comments.