Yahoo! News: Iraq

U.S. defense chief: Syria military must remain intact when Assad goes
Dewhurst, Cruz appeal to bases on Texas runoff eve
Tens of thousands flee Syria's largest city
North Korea face U.S. in nuclear women's clash
Warrior King Statue Discovered in Ancient Mediterranean City
Iraqi officials still being killed in large numbers
UN chief: Syrian tanks attacked observer convoy
US cuts police training, downsizes Iraq mission
Syria's top diplomat in London defects
U.S. Afghan aid could flop on counterinsurgency goals: watchdog
Syrian envoy to London defects amid Aleppo fight
UN chief tells Syrian government to cease violence, says civil war imperils neighbours
Romney visit: Poles disappointed with Obama foreign policy
Romney's Whiff-a-Thon: He and His Advisers Are on Different Pages
UK experts to help Iraq destroy chemical residues
UNICEF Scales up Emergency Response in Jordan to Assist Syrian Refugee Children and Families
At end of rocky Europe tour, Romney visits Poland
What happens to Syria if Bashar al-Assad falls? 4 scenarios
Transcript: Dick Cheney's First Interview After Heart Transplant
Dick Cheney Speaks Truth to Palin
After Aurora: the role of media violence
Women at the Olympics, Syrians in Iraq, and Discarded Pianos
Two Turkish soldiers killed in PKK clashes, locals flee
US audit: $200M wasted on Iraqi police training
JWT Announces Executive Promotions Within the MEA Region
A Day in the Life of a U.S. Drone Operator
Dick Cheney recalls knowing his heart was 'at an end'
Dick Cheney Speaks Truth to Palin By Conor Friedersdorf
Mitt Romney backs Israel's right to attack Iran: Admirable or irresponsible?

U.S. defense chief: Syria military must remain intact when Assad goes

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 04:38 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Government forces in Syria should be held together when President Bashar al-Assad is forced from power, the U.S. defense secretary said on Monday, warning that the mistakes of the Iraq war must not be repeated. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in an interview with CNN during a visit to Tunisia, said maintaining stability in Syria would be important under any scenario that sees Assad leave power. "I think it's important when Assad leaves, and he will leave, to try to preserve stability in that country," Panetta said. ...

Dewhurst, Cruz appeal to bases on Texas runoff eve

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 03:11 PM PDT

The two Republicans vying for the U.S. Senate nomination in Texas spent the final hours of their white-hot runoff race rallying their bases Monday, with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst making a hard appeal to veterans and tea party-backed Ted Cruz taking his anti-establishment message to radio and television stations.

Tens of thousands flee Syria's largest city

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 02:15 PM PDT

Smoking a cigarette outside a Turkish hospital near the Syrian border, a man in a gray gown and flip-flops held his sleeping 2-year-old daughter, Aya. On Aya's right eye was a bandage. In her left hand was a chocolate bar.

North Korea face U.S. in nuclear women's clash

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 02:13 PM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - North Korea face the United States in an Olympic women's soccer match on Tuesday that will pit the hermit state against the global superpower it has loathed since they fought a Cold War conflict six decades ago. The hostility is very much a live issue in world diplomacy, with Washington intent on frustrating the North's nuclear armaments ambitions. In 2002, President George W. Bush branded North Korea part of an "axis of evil", along with Iran and Iraq. ...

Warrior King Statue Discovered in Ancient Mediterranean City

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 01:07 PM PDT

A newly discovered statue of a curly-haired man gripping a spear and a sheath of wheat once guarded the upper citadel of an ancient kingdom's capital.

Iraqi officials still being killed in large numbers

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 11:42 AM PDT

The New York Times, one of the few American newspapers left with full-time staff in Iraq, reported last week that 15 members of neighborhood governments in Baqouba, a city north of Baghdad, recently resigned because of fears they'd be murdered by Sunni jihadis.

UN chief: Syrian tanks attacked observer convoy

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 11:19 AM PDT

Syrian tanks attacked a convoy carrying the head of the U.N. observer mission, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday. He again told the government to halt its violent crackdown on those fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad's regime.

US cuts police training, downsizes Iraq mission

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 11:11 AM PDT

The United States has slashed a signature Iraqi police training programme as it downsizes its massive diplomatic mission amid high costs and negative Iraqi sentiment, a US watchdog said on Monday.

Syria's top diplomat in London defects

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 11:03 AM PDT

Syria's top diplomat in London resigned Monday in protest against the "violent and oppressive" acts of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the British Foreign Office said.

U.S. Afghan aid could flop on counterinsurgency goals: watchdog

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 10:44 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Costly U.S. efforts to build major infrastructure projects in Afghanistan are running far behind schedule, and may fall short of counter-insurgency goals central to the U.S. military campaign there, a government watchdog warned on Monday. Almost $400 million in power grid, roads and other construction projects from fiscal 2011 "may not achieve the desired COIN effects," the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said. ...

Syrian envoy to London defects amid Aleppo fight

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 10:25 AM PDT

Syria's top diplomat in London said he could no longer represent the regime and defected Monday, as civilians fled the commercial hub of Aleppo in droves amid 10 days of fierce battles between rebels and government forces.

UN chief tells Syrian government to cease violence, says civil war imperils neighbours

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 10:07 AM PDT

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is telling the Syrian government to halt its violent crackdown on the dissidents and rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad's regime.

Romney visit: Poles disappointed with Obama foreign policy

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 10:03 AM PDT

Following visits in the United Kingdom and Israel, the next stop in Mitt Romney's overseas trip is Poland, where he will meet with national politicians, including Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and former president and Nobel Prize winner Lech Walesa.

Romney's Whiff-a-Thon: He and His Advisers Are on Different Pages

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 09:42 AM PDT

One would think that Dan Senor, of all of Mitt Romney's advisers, would be the last one to get crossways with the candidate. Senor, like Romney, is a Harvard M.B.A. and a successful Wall Streeter who has nimbly straddled the world of finance and politics, and whose somewhat hawkish, neoconservative views of the world are largely in accord with Romney's.

UK experts to help Iraq destroy chemical residues

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 09:23 AM PDT

Britain will help the Iraqi government dispose of what's left of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons, still stored in two bunkers in north of Baghdad, the British embassy in Baghdad announced Monday.

UNICEF Scales up Emergency Response in Jordan to Assist Syrian Refugee Children and Families

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 09:21 AM PDT

With the conflict in Syria causing a dramatic increase in the number of Syrian children and families fleeing to Jordan, UNICEF is rapidly scaling up its emergency assistance.New York, New York (PRWEB) July 30, 2012 With the conflict in Syria causing a dramatic increase in the number of Syrian children and families fleeing to Jordan, UNICEF is rapidly scaling up its emergency assistance. UNICEF is providing essential support to the new Za'atari tented site near Mafraq in northern Jordan, which is expected to receive 5,000 Syrian refugees within days. ...

At end of rocky Europe tour, Romney visits Poland

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 08:48 AM PDT

The last leg of Mitt Romney's foreign trip has taken him to Poland today, one of America's strongest allies in Europe. The Republican presidential candidate will try to capitalize on tensions caused by what Mr. Romney called the "abandonment of friends" by the Obama administration after its cancellation of missile shield plans in 2009.

What happens to Syria if Bashar al-Assad falls? 4 scenarios

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 07:35 AM PDT

American officials say the Syrian president's days are numbered — but don't expect his countrymen to join hands and start singing "Kumbaya" anytime soon

Transcript: Dick Cheney's First Interview After Heart Transplant

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 07:22 AM PDT

Dick Cheney on His New Heart JONATHAN KARL: How you feeling? DICK CHENEY: Excellent. I haven't felt this good in years. JONATHAN KARL: So this is– you've gone through this heart transplant. You were– you were in end stage heart failure. DICK CHENEY: Right. Two...

Dick Cheney Speaks Truth to Palin

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 06:50 AM PDT

ABC News is offering a summary of former Vice President Dick Cheney's comments about the selection of Sarah Palin for the 2008 ticket:

After Aurora: the role of media violence

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 06:49 AM PDT

Some of the most celebrated TV shows of this era are also some of the most violent: "The Wire," "Breaking Bad," "The Sopranos." It's the same with movies – from "Pulp Fiction" to "Batman." And video games. And books. Violence has a long and rich tradition in the arts as a plot accelerant and drama intensifier. Shakespeare employed it liberally. Homer, too.

Women at the Olympics, Syrians in Iraq, and Discarded Pianos

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 06:34 AM PDT

Now that The New York Times pay wall is live, you only get 10 free clicks a month. For those worried about hitting their limit, we're taking a look through the paper each morning to find the stories that can make your clicks count.

Two Turkish soldiers killed in PKK clashes, locals flee

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 06:26 AM PDT

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Kurdish rebels killed two Turkish soldiers in clashes in the country's southeast and hundreds of villagers have fled the fighting, adding to Ankara's concerns over gains by Kurdish groups in neighboring Syria. The government of Hakkari province, near Turkey's borders with Iraq and Iran, said the two soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded during fighting that broke out there on Sunday. Fighting, including bombardment with helicopters and war planes, was still underway on the southern fringe of the town of Semdinli, town mayor Sedat Tore said. ...

US audit: $200M wasted on Iraqi police training

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 06:12 AM PDT

U.S. auditors have concluded that more than $200 million was wasted on a program to train Iraqi police that Baghdad says is neither needed nor wanted.

JWT Announces Executive Promotions Within the MEA Region

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 06:10 AM PDT

Roy Haddad Appointed by WPP, Vatche Keverian Named as CEO JWT MENA and Chris von Selle Formally Announced as COO JWT AFRICABEIRUIT, LEBANON (PRWEB) July 30, 2012 Following WPP's recent appointment of Roy Haddad to the role of Director, WPP Middle East and North Africa (MENA), JWT today announced that Vatche Keverian has been named CEO, JWT Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In this role, Keverian will lead the company's vision and goals, leveraging best practices and talent in the interest of JWT's clients and brands. ...

A Day in the Life of a U.S. Drone Operator

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 05:48 AM PDT

You wouldn't think suburban New York as a battlefront for the war in Afghanistan, but for the growing number of U.S. drone operators at the Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, that's exactly what it is. In today's New York Times, Elisabeth Bumiller interviews the pilots who sit in office chairs all day firing missiles at militants 7,000 miles away in Afghanistan. It's a surreal-sounding job where life and death decisions precede routine trips to pick up the kids or shop for groceries. Take the experience of Col. D. ...

Dick Cheney recalls knowing his heart was 'at an end'

Posted: 30 Jul 2012 04:21 AM PDT

With a new heart, Dick Cheney is back. In an exclusive interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl, Cheney reflects on the "miracle" that a heart transplant promises to give him years of added life. And Cheney shows he is as confrontational as ever, taking on...