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


Saturday, September 3, 2011

War News for Saturday, September 03, 2011


Lancet report says 12,000 Iraqi civilians died in suicide attacks since 2003


Reported security incidents

Diyala Prv:
#1: Two gunmen were killed when an explosive vest detonated in their hideout in an under-construction house in Gatoon area, just west of Diyala's capital city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, a source from the provincial operations command told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The gunmen, apparently, were preparing for a suicide attack in the province, the source said.


Tarmiya:
#1: A roadside bomb wounded seven people, including two policemen and a government-backed Sunni militia member, when it exploded near a police checkpoint in Tarmiya, 25 km (15 miles) north of Baghdad, an interior ministry source said.


Mosul:
#1: A policeman was killed by a bomb when it exploded near a mosque in southwestern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#2: A roadside bomb wounded an Iraqi army officer and a soldier when it exploded near their patrol in western Mosul, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: An unarmed female civilian was killed by Afghan forces and troops from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the north of the country overnight, the coalition said in a statement. The woman was killed along with several insurgents in the Balkh province, the statement added. ISAF said it was conducting a night raid in the area, a controversial operation which has caused friction between Kabul and the West over the mistaken killing of civilians by foreign forces.

#2: ISAF troops killed two insurgents in an attack in southeastern Paktika province on Wednesday, the coalition said.

#3: ISAF forces killed several insurgents in air strikes in southern Uruzgan province on Wednesday, ISAF said.

#4: A roadside bomb killed four members of a pro-government militia in northern Kunduz province, the provincial police chief said.


DoD: Spc. Dennis James Jr.,

Posted by whisker at 3:26 AM

1 comments:

Dancewater said...

Female Trafficking Soars in Iraq

Prostitution and sex trafficking are epidemic in Iraq, where the violence of military occupation and sectarian strife have smashed national institutions, impoverished the population and torn apart families and neighbourhoods. Over 100,000 civilians have been killed and an estimated 4.4 million Iraqis displaced since 2003.

"Wars and conflicts, wherever they are fought, invariably usher in sickeningly high level of violence against women and girls," Amnesty International states.

September 3, 2011 at 11:27 AM

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