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, September 15, 2011

War News for Thursday, September 15, 2011

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier from a small arms fire/gunshot wounds attack in the village of Haji Khodin Nazar, in the Nahr-e Saraj (South) district, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, September 14th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier during an offensive engagement in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, September 13th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, September 14th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier during an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, September 14th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier during an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, September 15th.


As Iraq pullback nears, US still at war in south

Panetta: US will pursue Pakistan-based militants


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A sticky bomb attached to the car of a traffic police colonel exploded and killed him on late on Wednesday in the Iraqi capital's eastern New Baghdad district, an interior ministry source said.

#2: A bomb attached to a car parked inside a garage wounded three people when it went off in Baghdad's western Ghazaliya district, an Interior Ministry source said.


Iskandariya:
#1: Gunmen killed four people near Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, a police source said.


Kirkuk:
#1: One civilian was seriously wounded when he escaped from gunmen trying to kidnap him in central Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, a local police source said.


Mosul:
#1: A roadside bomb went off near a police patrol and wounded one policeman in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a local police source said.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A bomb attached to a vehicle killed the driver, a man named Saddam Hussein, in central Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, a local police source said.

#2: The Chairman of southwestern Iraq’s Shiite Karbala Province, Mohammed Hamead al-Moussawi, has escaped an assassination attempt close to al-Nukheib township in Anbar Province on Thursday, according to a member of his Council.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Afghan security forces and foreign troops killed eight insurgents in Nawzad district of southern Helmand province during an operation, the provincial governor said in a statement.

#2: Also a civilian was killed in a roadside mine in the same district on Wednesday, the statement added.

#3: An ISAF air strike killed a Taliban commander in Maidan Wardak province, west of Kabul, on Tuesday, the alliance said. The commander, identified by ISAF as Hamdullah, was planning attacks in Kabul and surrounding provinces to disrupt Saturday's parliamentary elections, it said.

#4: Afghan police fired into the air to disperse thousands of angry anti-American protesters in the Afghan capital, Kabul, witnesses and police said. One person was killed and at least five wounded, police said.

#5: An Afghan civilian was killed after ignoring several warnings from NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops to stop approaching a security perimeter in southeastern Paktika province on Tuesday, ISAF said.

#6: At least six people were killed and 16 others were injured when a suicide bomber hit a funeral in Pakistan's northwest district of Lower Dir on Thursday afternoon, local Urdu TV channel Duniya reported.


DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Danial R. Adams

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