Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Syrian forces press offensive in Idlib, 45 killed
• Police: Girl, war vet dead in murder-suicide
• As Rod Blagojevich Heads to Prison, a Look at Famous Imprisoned U.S. Politicians
• Iraqi president leaves after Mayo Clinic treatment
• Lawyer: Afghanistan suspect was loath to deploy
• Lawyer: Soldier accused in Afghanistan shootings was reluctant to go on 4th deployment
• Soldier's spouse preps for visit with first lady
• Ron Paul's pointless Internet presidency
• Beanbag hit Occupy protester, not gas canister
• Attorney asks for dismissal in WikiLeaks case
• Taliban talks off; Karzai tells NATO to pull back
• US says Manning helped Al-Qaeda with leaks
• Taliban break contacts, Karzai orders US out of villages
• Bradley Manning Defense Seeks Dismissal of Charges
• Pro-regime rally marks anniversary of uprising
• Alleged Afghanistan shooter chooses Seattle lawyer
• After bin Laden's death, a different kind of hunt
• Taliban nixes US talks, Karzai demands NATO pull out of rural areas after civilian killings
• Suspect's allies decry French anti-terrorism laws
• Is American Primacy Really Diminishing?
• Iraqi president being treated at Mayo Clinic
• SPIN METER: Santorum downplays Senate defeat
• Analysis: Afghanistan increasingly looks like Iraq
• The Cook Report: GOP Incumbents Should Run Scared
• Syria to push on with 'war of attrition': analysts
• Turkey raises buffer zone option as more Syrians flee
• Lawmakers press Pentagon on massacre suspect's brain injury
• U.S. troops numb, uncertain after Afghan massacre
• Obama, Cameron put up show of unity on world crises
• Leon Panetta's big task in Afghanistan is trust-building. Impossible? (+video)
• Army: Soldier who leaked documents aided al-Qaida
• Kurds claim Iraq owes $1 bn for oil pumped in 2011
• Women for Women International Announces Ongoing Support for Women of South Sudan
• Algeria conflict shapes US military strategy
• Is the Army to blame for the Afghan massacre?
• Obama help with Israeli preemptive strike on Iran would violate international, US law
• A journey into Syria's nightmare
• Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria bombings deadlier in 2011
• Ron Paul: 'It's About Time' GOP Rivals Moved His Way on Afghanistan
• Afghans angry over removal of accused US soldier

Syrian forces press offensive in Idlib, 45 killed Posted: BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian forces pressed their military offensive in the northern province of Idlib, driving 1,000 refugees across the Turkish border as the bloody revolt against President Bashar al-Assad entered a second year with no sign of political solution. Forty-five civilians were killed in the frontier province, including 23 whose bodies were found with their hands tied behind their backs, as well as five army deserters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported. ...

Police: Girl, war vet dead in murder-suicide Posted: An Iraq War veteran who may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder shot and killed his 11-year-old sister Thursday before taking his own life in a murder-suicide, police said.

As Rod Blagojevich Heads to Prison, a Look at Famous Imprisoned U.S. Politicians Posted: The former governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, has arrived at a federal prison in Colorado to begin serving a 14-year prison sentence for guilty verdicts on 17 counts of political corruption. The June 2011 convictions have led the politician to a stint at Federal Correction Institute (FCI) Englewood, outside of Denver, and his most notorious charge was taking bribes for a gubernatorial appointment to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, who left the Senate after winning the 2008 presidential election.

Iraqi president leaves after Mayo Clinic treatment Posted: Iraq President Jalal Talabani has completed medical care in Minnesota.

Lawyer: Afghanistan suspect was loath to deploy Posted: The U.S. soldier accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians last weekend had twice been injured during tours in Iraq and was reluctant to leave on his fourth deployment, a Seattle lawyer said Thursday.

Lawyer: Soldier accused in Afghanistan shootings was reluctant to go on 4th deployment Posted: SEATTLE - The U.S. soldier accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians last weekend had twice been injured during tours in Iraq and was reluctant to leave on his fourth deployment, a lawyer said Thursday.

Soldier's spouse preps for visit with first lady Posted: When Nicole Lovald married a soldier, she thought military life meant a lot of moves around the country.

Ron Paul's pointless Internet presidency Posted: Ron Paul, President of the Internet! Hail to the online chief! Four more years!

Beanbag hit Occupy protester, not gas canister Posted: An Iraq War veteran whose skull was fractured during an Occupy Oakland protest last fall was hit by a beanbag round fired by a police officer, not a tear gas canister, his lawyer said.

Attorney asks for dismissal in WikiLeaks case Posted: An attorney for an Army private accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of pages of classified information asked a military judge Thursday to dismiss the charges, arguing the government bungled the handover of documents to the defense.

Taliban talks off; Karzai tells NATO to pull back Posted: The American campaign in Afghanistan suffered a double blow Thursday: The Taliban broke off talks with the U.S., and President Hamid Karzai said NATO should pull out of rural areas and speed up the transfer of security responsibilities to Afghan forces nationwide in the wake of the killing of 16 civilians.

US says Manning helped Al-Qaeda with leaks Posted: US soldier Bradley Manning aided Al-Qaeda by leaking troves of classified information to the secret-spilling website Wikileaks, military prosecutors said Thursday.

Taliban break contacts, Karzai orders US out of villages Posted: The Taliban broke off contacts over peace talks with Washington on Thursday and the Afghan president demanded US troops leave village outposts, just days after an American soldier massacred 16 villagers.

Bradley Manning Defense Seeks Dismissal of Charges Posted: The defense in Bradley Manning's court martial case today submitted a motion for dismissal of the  charges with prejudice, meaning the soldier could not be retried on charges he leaked government secrets. The motion arose after a fundamental disagreement occurred between the defense and prosecution over...

Pro-regime rally marks anniversary of uprising Posted: Thousands of Syrians rallied Thursday in Damascus in a display of loyalty to President Bashar Assad, waving flags under a slate gray sky to protest the anniversary of a rebellion that the government says is driven by terrorists, gangsters and extremists.

Alleged Afghanistan shooter chooses Seattle lawyer Posted: A Seattle attorney who represented a teenage thief known as the "Barefoot Bandit" said Thursday he has been asked to represent the U.S. soldier accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians last weekend.

After bin Laden's death, a different kind of hunt Posted: The hunt for Osama bin Laden took nearly a decade. It could take even longer to uncover U.S. government emails, planning reports, photographs and more that would shed light on how an elite team of Navy SEALs killed the world's most wanted terrorist.

Taliban nixes US talks, Karzai demands NATO pull out of rural areas after civilian killings Posted: KABUL - The American campaign in Afghanistan suffered a double blow Thursday: The Taliban broke off talks with the U.S., and President Hamid Karzai said NATO should pull out of rural areas and speed up the transfer of security responsibilities to Afghan forces nationwide in the wake of the killing of 16 civilians.

Suspect's allies decry French anti-terrorism laws Posted: In emails, the nuclear physicist at one of Europe's most celebrated laboratories railed about a need to punish Western governments for allegedly anti-Muslim wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — and conferred with an alleged al-Qaida contact about possible assassination or bombing plots.

Is American Primacy Really Diminishing? Posted: Those of us who write about foreign policy—or any topic, for that matter—yearn for the day when the president of the United States lauds our work. That is exactly what happened in January to Robert Kagan, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and an adviser to the Romney campaign. Just before delivering the State of the Union address, President Obama told a collection of news anchors that his thinking had been influenced by Kagan's recent cover essay in The New Republic, "Not Fade Away: The Myth of American Decline. ...

Iraqi president being treated at Mayo Clinic Posted: Iraq President Jalal Talabani is in Minnesota for medical care.

SPIN METER: Santorum downplays Senate defeat Posted: Rick Santorum often points to his House and Senate victories in a Democratic-leaning presidential battleground state to argue that he gives Republicans the strongest shot at defeating President Barack Obama in November.

Analysis: Afghanistan increasingly looks like Iraq Posted: Afghanistan is not Iraq, U.S. officials have been fond of saying from the first days of Barack Obama's presidency.

The Cook Report: GOP Incumbents Should Run Scared Posted: There are plenty of good reasons why Rep. Jean Schmidt's Republican primary loss last week in Ohio's 2nd District to Brad Wenstrup, a tea-partying podiatric surgeon and an Iraq war veteran, should not be extrapolated to other congressional districts. For one thing, Schmidt has chronically underperformed in GOP primaries. And, in a related factor, she was apparently behind the door when God handed out the charm and gregariousness that most elected officials possess. Schmidt is an acquired taste that many in her district and on Capitol Hill never managed to acquire.

Syria to push on with 'war of attrition': analysts Posted: The Syrian regime will persist with its strategy of bombing into submission pockets of rebel resistance as it remains convinced it alone holds the key to resolving a crisis now entering a second year, analysts say.

Turkey raises buffer zone option as more Syrians flee Posted: REYHANLI, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey said on Thursday it might consider backing a 'buffer zone' inside Syria to cope with a flow of refugees across its border that has increased sharply with a Syrian government offensive against rebels in the nearby Idlib region. Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said a thousand refugees had crossed the border in the last 24 hours, fleeing attacks by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. Among them was a general, the seventh top ranking Syrian officer to have defected to Turkey. ...

Lawmakers press Pentagon on massacre suspect's brain injury Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A congressman asked the Pentagon on Tuesday to explain why the soldier accused in the massacre of 16 Afghan villagers was sent back into combat after earlier suffering a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, as lawmakers questioned how seriously the military deals with the mental health of troops. The Army staff sergeant accused in Sunday's shooting served three deployments to Iraq before he was sent to Afghanistan last year. ...

U.S. troops numb, uncertain after Afghan massacre Posted: LAKEWOOD, Washington (Reuters) - Around the home base of the American soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians there is a sense of dedication to a tough job, but stress from years of battle in repeated tours in the "sand box" of Iraq and Afghanistan is eating away at troops. "A lot of the guys, especially those with a lot of deployments, have built up a numbness to people being killed or hurt," said one veteran of six tours abroad, including Iraq and Afghanistan, describing his own reaction to the weekend shooting. ...

Obama, Cameron put up show of unity on world crises Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron presented a unified front on Wednesday, seeking to ratchet up pressure on Iran and Syria and stay the course in Afghanistan even as they papered over differences on economic strategies. Amid the pomp and ceremony of a state visit, Obama and Cameron called each other by their first names and stressed solidarity in the face of global security challenges that have tested the much-vaunted alliance between their two countries. Cameron is on a three-day U.S. ...

Leon Panetta's big task in Afghanistan is trust-building. Impossible? (+video) Posted: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's visit to Afghanistan this week highlights a looming and much-discussed casualty in the decade-long war: trust between US forces and their Afghan counterparts.

Army: Soldier who leaked documents aided al-Qaida Posted: An Army private aided al-Qaida by leaking hundreds of thousands of military and other government documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, the military said Thursday.

Kurds claim Iraq owes $1 bn for oil pumped in 2011 Posted: Iraqi Kurdistan claimed on Thursday that the central government has not handed over months of promised oil income while the region's leader said officials in Baghdad were vindictive "failures".

Women for Women International Announces Ongoing Support for Women of South Sudan Posted: Organization has helped over 3,000 women in South Sudan and is expanding its efforts to help provide agriculture opportunities and income generation.Washington, DC (PRWEB) March 15, 2012 Women for Women International announced today their continued support for the women of South Sudan, who have been deeply affected by ongoing violence and growing food insecurity, and for efforts to establish lasting peace in the war-torn region. ...

Algeria conflict shapes US military strategy Posted: The French military experience in Algeria 50 years ago has left an indelible mark on a new generation of US officers, who have tried to apply the lessons of the conflict to the fight against insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Is the Army to blame for the Afghan massacre? Posted: The soldier accused of gunning down 16 Afghan civilians could face the death penalty if convicted. Should his superiors be held accountable, too?

Obama help with Israeli preemptive strike on Iran would violate international, US law Posted: If Israel should launch a unilateral attack on Iran in response to a mere threat to weaponize its nuclear program, should the United States come to Israel's aid?

A journey into Syria's nightmare Posted: (Reuters) - Zohra Bensemra is a news photographer for Reuters. Based in Algiers, she traveled on assignment to Syria in February. This is her account of that journey: The contact from Syria called: "Be ready in 30 minutes," he said. "If you want to go, we have to go now." From the moment we left our Turkish hotel near the border, my colleague and I traveled on dirt roads used by smugglers and farmers around Syria's northern frontier. The highways were busy with soldiers and shabbiha, irregular pro-Assad fighters. ...

Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria bombings deadlier in 2011 Posted: Bomb attacks in Nigeria, Kenya and Somalia rose in 2011 as al-Qaida-affiliated terror groups used more sophisticated devices to kill more people with each explosion, the Pentagon's anti-IED unit said.

Ron Paul: 'It's About Time' GOP Rivals Moved His Way on Afghanistan Posted: CHAMPAIGN, Ill.—Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul says that recent shifts by some of his rivals on the Afghanistan war are a sign that he's "winning the fight" with his signature hands-off foreign policy.

Afghans angry over removal of accused US soldier Posted: Afghan lawmakers expressed anger Thursday over the U.S. move to fly an American soldier accused of killing 16 civilians out of the country to Kuwait, saying Kabul shouldn't sign a strategic partnership agreement with Washington unless the suspect faces justice in Afghanistan.

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