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


Monday, April 19, 2010

War News for Monday, April 19, 2010

Secret prison for Sunnis revealed in Baghdad:

Iraqi panel orders vote recount in Baghdad:

Taliban building up for summer showdown:


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A policeman was wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in western Baghdad on Sunday, a local security source said. “An IED went off near a police patrol in al-Ghazaliya neighborhood, wounding a soldier,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diyala Prv:
#1: A magnetic bomb that was stuck to a parked civilian car detonated in the main marketplace in Anasfiyah neighbourhood, central Baquba, Sunday, killing one woman and seriously injuring one man.


Kirkuk:
#1: A police brigadier survived an assassination attempt on Monday when he came under gunmen’s fire in central Kirkuk city. “The officer and his driver were wounded,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: Seven civilians were wounded when a bomb went off on Monday in central Mosul city.
“The blast attempted to target a police patrol in central Mosul,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Armed men broke into a home in Bab al Beedh neighbourhood, central Mosul and shot and killed one man and three women who were inside the house.

#3: Armed men threw a home made bomb at an army checkpoint in Darghazliyah neighbourhood, east Mosul, injuring one civilian.

#4: Armed men opened fire upon a police patrol in Mashahdah neighbourhood, west Mosul, injuring two police officers.

#5: Armed men wounded two retired senior army officers after they left a mosque in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A bomb attack in a restive Pakistani tribal area on Monday destroyed two tankers carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan, local officials said. The bomb planted under one tanker exploded near the village of Takhtabeg in the lawless Khyber tribal district, turning the vehicle into a huge ball of flames, administration official Rehan Gul Khattak said. Six people were injured. The second tanker and a goods truck passing by also caught fire and the blaze spread to a petrol pump and timber stores on the roadside, he added. The tankers were carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan, Khyber administration chief Shafeerullah Wazir told AFP.

#2: Afghanistan's defense ministry says an explosion has killed one Afghan army soldier and wounded three during a military training exercise in Kabul.The Taliban claimed responsibility for the explosion Monday, saying it was a suicide attack. But Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi denied that. He said the blast was likely caused by an old land mine or by one of the mortars that were used in the exercise. He said authorities were still investigating.Azimi said one soldier was killed and three wounded.

#3: An explosion shook an area of Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar on Monday, sending smoke and dust into the sky, a Reuters witness said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast and if there were any casualties. The blast happened in an area where several government buildings are located.

19 comments:

Cervantes said...

Maliki and U.S. claim both Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri are dead. Maliki claimed it was an operation of "Iraqi intelligence," the U.S. says it was a raid by a joint force. Both men have been killed or captured a few times before; but assuming they actually existed, perhaps they really are dead this time.

Cervantes said...

Meanwhile, on the political reconciliation front, al Iraqiya is threatening to "withdraw from the political process. Hoo boy.

thewiz said...

An Iranian cleric says that "'Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes,'

read more here

but they don't "hate us for our freedoms" like Lady Gaga, Madonna, or lots of other displays in our society.

Cervantes said...

He doesn't hate us for our freedoms, he doesn't like Iranian women.

So what's the solution Wizzo, should we bomb Iran because it contains a wacko who says wacko shit? Or should we bomb the United States first?

thewiz said...

The answer is to deal directly with the people of Iran, people that want to be free of these mad mullahs. The vast majority wants to live in a modern world and we should help them all we can.

We have mishandled Iran for some time. We have given stern warnings and treated them like a major power. Instead we should continuously point out that Iran was once a great power, not just militarily but also economically and socially but now it is a third world country due to the terrible mismanagement and corruption of the government.

When they sent a little skiff to threaten our battleships we should have pointed out how weak this was instead of treating it like a serious power. Don't make them look powerful when they are actually very weak.

Point out how the they could have been a wealthy exporter of refined petroleum products with a vibrant economy if they had invested in refineries instead of a hugely expensive nuke program. They have a decent auto production industry that could be a world player if their government wasn't so widely scorned.

Continue to highlight the many shortcomings of the government and remind the people what they will have when democracy takes over.

In short, expose the government for the fools they are and reinforce how much better Iran will be when the people are free.

thewiz said...

BTW. using the loons of the Daily Kos doesn't strengthen your position.

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thewiz said...

And another thing, your premise needs a bit of clarification. "should we bomb Iran because it contains a wacko who says wacko shit? " is not a very accurate description of the situation.

The "wacko" is not merely contained within Iran. All countries contain wackos. Just read the recent posts by Susan, aka Dancewater, and one can easily see that even this great country contains wackos. And allowing such wackos free reign to expose themselves is one the of things that makes this country so strong. But I digress.

The problem in Iran is that such wackos are not merely contained within but they are actually in charge there. This particular one is high enough in the hierarchy that he was awarded the honor of leading the entire country in Friday prayers. And when a country is lead by people that believe a woman that does "not dress modestly" causes earthquakes it is a serious problem. Surely, having Jerry Falwell as POTUS would have been a major dust up.

But by having such wackos in charge of countries once again shows that withdrawing from the world will not appease these zealots. Such a retreat would only be seen as weakness and further encourage them.

Dancewater said...

Iran is not weak, and if it was, then the US would bomb them. Since it is not weak, the US will not commit the hideous evil of bombing innocent people for control of their oil.

And that little skiff incident did not happen - they forgot to mention that on FAUX news.

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Anonymous said...

Sadr - the sadrist did not accept this playing card…RUBBISH. 2000 Sadrist criminals have been released by Maliki a couple of weeks ago.

lol.. fraps reruns in Iraq huh?? Shhhh.. nobody knows.

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Anonymous said...

Hail to the Sunnis. :-).