Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Venezuela's Chavez says U.S. detainee was Marine
• Expected Annan replacement urges powers to unite on Syria
• After long fight, opening day for Tenn. mosque
• U.S. sanctions Syrian oil firm, Hezbollah
• US officials: al-Qaida gaining foothold in Syria
• U.S., Turkey to step up plans for Syria's "day after"
• GI details harsh treatment in WikiLeaks case
• With Three Months to Go, Uncertainty Reigns for Undecided Voters
• AWOL Muslim Soldier Sentenced in Fort Hood Terrorist Bomb Plot
• Iraq's Kurds seek greater clout through oil policy
• Chavez: American man detained in Venezuela
• Suicide bomber hits North Iraq Shi'ite mosque, kills five
• Analysis: Iran seeks to save pivotal Syrian ally
• Syrian refugees near 150,000 as exodus grows: U.N.
• Syrian crisis: the case for the US to intervene now – or not
• UN rights experts warn of 'massacre' in Iraq's Ashraf camp
• James Baker Throws a Lifeline to Embattled Romney Adviser
• Baghdad at 1,250: a far cry from past glories
• IEA cuts global oil demand forecasts
• Four killed in Iraq attacks
• Clinton aide: Nigeria military alone can't beat Islamists
• Algerian Brahimi seen replacing Annan as Syria envoy
• Revisiting the DHS Smear of the Tea Party Movement
• British Government Legally Questioned Over Role in Obama's 'Kill List'
• Chavez says U.S. citizen arrested for entering Venezuela illegally
• Commentary: Obama or Romney? Tomato or Tomato?
• UN diplomats: Algeria's Brahimi strong candidate to replace Annan as peace envoy to Syria

Venezuela's Chavez says U.S. detainee was Marine Posted: 10 Aug 2012 04:17 PM PDT CARACAS (Reuters) - An American arrested in Venezuela while entering illegally from Colombia is a former U.S. Marine and is refusing to explain himself under interrogation, President Hugo Chavez said on Friday. The United States is expressing skepticism over the latest incident between the two ideologically opposed nations, but says its diplomats should be given access to the man if Chavez's statements are true. The socialist Chavez is running for re-election at an October 7 vote and has been frequently invoking the possibility of violent actions by Venezuela's opposition with U.S. blessing. ...

Expected Annan replacement urges powers to unite on Syria Posted: 10 Aug 2012 03:27 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The man tipped to replace Kofi Annan as the U.N.-Arab League mediator on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi of Algeria, urged world leaders on Friday to overcome their differences on the 17-month-old conflict that is slipping deeper into full-scale civil war. "The U.N. Security Council and regional states must unite to ensure that a political transition can take place as soon as possible," Brahimi said in a statement published on the website of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders committed to peace and human rights. ...

After long fight, opening day for Tenn. mosque Posted: 10 Aug 2012 03:14 PM PDT Muslims in the Tennessee city of Murfreesboro said Friday they hope the opening of their new mosque after more than two years of controversy will be a new beginning for relations with the community, particularly their opponents.

U.S. sanctions Syrian oil firm, Hezbollah Posted: 10 Aug 2012 03:11 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed a new round of largely symbolic penalties against Syria on Friday that targeted state-run oil company Sytrol and said it was exposing Hezbollah for providing support to President Bashar al-Assad's government. The Lebanese Shi'ite group, which is allied with Iran and was designated by the United States as a terrorist organization in 1990s, has been providing training and extensive logistical support to Syria's government, the U.S. Treasury said. ...

US officials: al-Qaida gaining foothold in Syria Posted: 10 Aug 2012 02:18 PM PDT Al-Qaida has advanced beyond isolated pockets of activity in Syria and now is building a network of well-organized cells, according to U.S. intelligence officials, who fear the terrorists could be on the verge of establishing an Iraq-like foothold that would be hard to defeat if rebels eventually oust President Bashar Assad.

U.S., Turkey to step up plans for Syria's "day after" Posted: 10 Aug 2012 02:16 PM PDT ACCRA (Reuters) - The United States imposed new sanctions on Syria and its allies on Friday and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to Turkey for meetings as both countries plan for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's fall. Clinton, winding up an 11-day Africa tour, is due to fly from the small West African state of Benin to Istanbul, where she will meet on Saturday with Turkey's prime minister and foreign minister and hold talks with Syrians who have recently joined the growing exodus of refugees fleeing the violence. ...

GI details harsh treatment in WikiLeaks case Posted: 10 Aug 2012 02:13 PM PDT A U.S. Army private charged in a massive leak of government secrets claims his harsh pretrial treatment during nine months in a Marine Corps brig was directed from high up the chain of command and warrants dismissal of the entire case, according to documents his civilian lawyer released Friday.

With Three Months to Go, Uncertainty Reigns for Undecided Voters Posted: 10 Aug 2012 01:21 PM PDT Lyn Vaccaro admits it: "I'm officially an undecided voter."

AWOL Muslim Soldier Sentenced in Fort Hood Terrorist Bomb Plot Posted: 10 Aug 2012 11:13 AM PDT Army PFC. Naser Jason Abdo, a Muslim convert, has been sentenced to two life terms in prison by U.S. District Judge Walter Smith for collecting bomb making materials with the intent of carrying out a terrorist attack against soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, according to the Associated Press.

Iraq's Kurds seek greater clout through oil policy Posted: 10 Aug 2012 10:09 AM PDT Iraq's minority Kurds are upping the ante with their go-it-alone oil policy, luring some of Big Oil's biggest players and again challenging Iraq's central government to a showdown over a shared export route.

Chavez: American man detained in Venezuela Posted: 10 Aug 2012 09:37 AM PDT President Hugo Chavez said Venezuelan authorities have detained a U.S. citizen and are interrogating him, suspecting he could be a "mercenary" plotting to destabilize the country if the opposition loses the upcoming presidential election.

Suicide bomber hits North Iraq Shi'ite mosque, kills five Posted: 10 Aug 2012 09:32 AM PDT MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - A suicide bomber driving a truck attacked a Shi'ite mosque near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul as Friday prayers ended, killing at least five people and wounding 70, police and health officials said. The mosque where the bomber detonated his explosives belonged to the Shabak minority in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad. "A suicide car bomber targeted a Shabak mosque in Mwafaqiya village," said Hanin Qaddo, a local Shabak leader. "Part of the mosque building collapsed over the heads of the worshippers as they were leaving. ...

Analysis: Iran seeks to save pivotal Syrian ally Posted: 10 Aug 2012 09:29 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Iran, dismayed at the plight of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is seeking to shore him up and counter a perceived drive by Western and U.S.-aligned Sunni Muslim nations to roll back its own power in the Middle East. A hastily-convened conference in Tehran on Thursday looked like an attempt by the Islamic Republic to forge a coalition of friendly countries opposed to Western and Arab support for rebels determined to end four decades of Assad family rule. ...

Syrian refugees near 150,000 as exodus grows: U.N. Posted: 10 Aug 2012 09:20 AM PDT GENEVA (Reuters) - Growing numbers of Syrian civilians are fleeing abroad to escape conflict at home, especially in Aleppo, and Turkey is building more refugee camps in anticipation of a larger exodus, the United Nations said on Friday. Nearly 150,000 refugees have registered in four neighboring countries since the conflict began 17 months ago, it said, while others are reaching Maghreb countries and southern Europe. The total includes 50,227 in Turkey, where more than 6,000 Syrians arrived this week as Syria's largest city of Aleppo came under heavy bombardment from government forces. ...

Syrian crisis: the case for the US to intervene now – or not Posted: 10 Aug 2012 09:15 AM PDT With stepped-up calls for an American intervention in Syria, will US military policy change toward a country increasingly being plunged into violence and chaos?

UN rights experts warn of 'massacre' in Iraq's Ashraf camp Posted: 10 Aug 2012 08:51 AM PDT Ten UN human rights experts on Friday denounced the "appalling situation" of 3,400 Iranian refugees in Iraq amid fears of a fresh "massacre" by security forces.

James Baker Throws a Lifeline to Embattled Romney Adviser Posted: 10 Aug 2012 06:40 AM PDT Former Secretary of State James Baker attempted to shield Bob Zoellick, the new head of Mitt Romney's national security transition team, Thursday night following blistering criticisms from neocons that Zoellick is insufficiently pro-Israel and opposed the Gulf War. Baker's interview with Foreign Policy's Josh Rogin opens up a schism that rarely sees the light of day: The internal party battle between Republican neocons and Republican realists.

Baghdad at 1,250: a far cry from past glories Posted: 10 Aug 2012 03:59 AM PDT Baghdad was once the capital of an empire and the centre of the Islamic world, but at 1,250 years old, the Iraqi city is a far cry from its past glories after being ravaged by years of war and sanctions.

IEA cuts global oil demand forecasts Posted: 10 Aug 2012 03:30 AM PDT Faltering economic growth will undercut global oil demand this year and next, the International Energy Agency said Friday, citing slowdowns in China and the United States in particular.

Four killed in Iraq attacks Posted: 10 Aug 2012 02:57 AM PDT A bombing and a shooting against a police patrol and a city council member in Iraq killed four people and wounded four others on Friday, security and medical officials said.

Clinton aide: Nigeria military alone can't beat Islamists Posted: 10 Aug 2012 01:21 AM PDT ABUJA (Reuters) - The United States wants to help Nigeria fight Islamists it sees as a growing regional menace, but the country cannot rely on military might alone, an official travelling with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. Clinton visited Africa's most populous nation on Thursday and met with President Goodluck Jonathan. Washington is offering support in the fight against Boko Haram, a Taliban-like group that wants to create a strict Islamic state in Nigeria's north. ...

Algerian Brahimi seen replacing Annan as Syria envoy Posted: 10 Aug 2012 01:16 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi is expected to replace Kofi Annan as the U.N.-Arab League joint special envoy for Syria barring a last-minute change, diplomats said on Thursday. The former Algerian foreign minister, who has a long history as a diplomatic troubleshooter, will have his work cut out for him in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad is using his security forces to try to crush a 17-month-old pro-democracy rebellion. Annan, a former U.N. ...

Revisiting the DHS Smear of the Tea Party Movement Posted: 10 Aug 2012 12:00 AM PDT In the wake of the horrific Sikh temple shootings in Wisconsin, left-wing barrel-scrapers are demanding that talk-radio giant Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives apologize for criticizing a 2009 Department of Homeland Security report that hyped an ominous new wave of violent "rightwing extremism."

British Government Legally Questioned Over Role in Obama's 'Kill List' Posted: 09 Aug 2012 08:58 PM PDT An Afghan man who had relatives killed in a U.S. missile strike is challenging parts of the British government demanding to know how they contributed to the construction of President Obama's infamous 'kill list'.

Chavez says U.S. citizen arrested for entering Venezuela illegally Posted: 09 Aug 2012 06:24 PM PDT CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan security forces have arrested an American citizen who entered the nation illegally with geographical coordinates in a notebook, President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday. In the tense run-up to an October 7 presidential election, the socialist leader has frequently mentioned the possibility of violence by opponents with U.S. backing. Foes say that is typical grandstanding nonsense from Chavez, intended to curry support with the masses for his re-election bid by presenting himself as a victim of "imperial" plots. ...

Commentary: Obama or Romney? Tomato or Tomato? Posted: 09 Aug 2012 06:24 PM PDT With three months to go before the election, Yahoo! News asked a handful of undecided voters how they're leaning in the presidential race. Here's a perspective from one voter.

UN diplomats: Algeria's Brahimi strong candidate to replace Annan as peace envoy to Syria Posted: 09 Aug 2012 05:57 PM PDT Diplomats say that former Algerian foreign affairs minister Lakhdar Brahimi is a strong candidate to replace former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan as peace envoy to Syria.

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