Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• GOP senators launch tour warning of defense cuts
• US confirms defections of two more Syrian envoys
• Syrian ambassadors to Emirates, Cyprus defect
• Israelis fear breach of Syria's chemical arsenal
• Moral mantle for action in Syria slips from UN to Obama
• Israelis line up for gas masks as fears mount over Syria's control of chemical weapons stocks
• Mitt Romney's overseas trip: where he's going and why
• In Syria crisis, stakes high for Hezbollah
• Turkish forces kill 15 Kurdish rebels in southeast
• Big oil on the back foot in changing energy world
• Capitol Hill Syria Briefing to Bring Attention to Plight of Refugees
• Birthers Get Their Own Campaign Ad
• THE RACE: Romney may avoid hitting Obama on trip
• Syrian refugees simmer in Turkish camps
• Syrians in Iraq tell of shells 'like rain' and nightly hell
• Syria fears send Israelis running for gas masks
• Bomb-Disarming Robot Was First to Enter Alleged Aurora Shooter's Apartment
• Four things Syria must do after Bashar al-Assad
• Romney and Obama on foreign policy: short on specifics
• Syrian rushes troops to Aleppo to fight rebels
• Analysis: In Syria crisis, stakes high for Hezbollah
• Syrians flee to "safer" Iraq through reopened border
• Alawite mountains offer limited shelter to Assad
• America's Social Workers Join Dr. Jill Biden to Launch "Social Work and Service Members: Joining Forces to Support Veterans and Military Families"
• Five Best Wednesday Columns
• JAMIS Supports Veterans Through the Folds of Honor Foundation
• Jewish Voters, British Journalism, and 'Homeland'
• Turkey blocks trade with Syria, rebels fight on
• Qaeda says Iraq bloodshed marks new campaign
• Fearing spillover, Turkey closes border with Syria as Aleppo braces for war
• Friendship Place Awarded Major Grant from Department of Veterans Affairs to Help End Veteran Homelessness
• Al Qaeda claims responsibility for attacks in Iraq
• Bomb kills Iraq policeman's wife, children
• Turkey closing Syrian border to commerce, not refugees
• Soldier in New Ad: Allen West Saved My Life
• Al-Qaida claims responsibility for Iraq killings
• 10 things you need to know today: July 25, 2012
• Absolute Rights Newsletter from Tuesday Spotlights Gun Rights, Voting, and Survival

GOP senators launch tour warning of defense cuts Posted: 25 Jul 2012 04:33 PM PDT Senate Republicans warning of the devastating impact from looming defense cuts will hit four presidential battleground states next week, ratcheting up the political pressure on President Barack Obama even though Congress endorsed the reductions.

US confirms defections of two more Syrian envoys Posted: 25 Jul 2012 03:57 PM PDT The United States on Wednesday confirmed the defections of two more senior Syrian diplomats, describing this as further evidence that President Bashar al-Assad's days are "numbered."

Syrian ambassadors to Emirates, Cyprus defect Posted: 25 Jul 2012 02:34 PM PDT AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria's ambassadors to the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus, who are husband and wife, have defected to Qatar, spokesmen for the opposition Syrian National Council said on Wednesday. They are the second and third senior diplomats to defect since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began 16 months ago. "The ambassador (Abdelatif al-Dabbagh) is now in Qatar," SNC spokesman Mohammad Sarmini told Reuters by telephone, referring to the ambassador to the UAE. ...

Israelis fear breach of Syria's chemical arsenal Posted: 25 Jul 2012 01:50 PM PDT Israelis rushed to get government-issue gas masks Wednesday, the latest sign of mounting fears that Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles could be used against them as the crisis there deepens.

Moral mantle for action in Syria slips from UN to Obama Posted: 25 Jul 2012 01:06 PM PDT Americans have long been ambivalent about ceding global leadership to the United Nations. Bill Clinton didn't have UN approval to attack Serbia in 1999 just as George W. Bush didn't for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Israelis line up for gas masks as fears mount over Syria's control of chemical weapons stocks Posted: 25 Jul 2012 01:00 PM PDT JERUSALEM - Israelis rushed to get government-issue gas masks Wednesday, the latest sign of mounting fears that the Syrian regime could lose control of its chemical weapons stockpiles and violence could spill over the border.

Mitt Romney's overseas trip: where he's going and why Posted: 25 Jul 2012 12:45 PM PDT It's no coincidence that the first stop of presidential candidate Mitt Romney's seven-day, three-country overseas trip is London in full Olympics mode.

In Syria crisis, stakes high for Hezbollah Posted: 25 Jul 2012 12:25 PM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah has publicly tied its future to Bashar al-Assad, but as the tide turns against the Syrian president it is silent on whether it will join the fight to support him. The stakes are high for the group which fears that toppling Assad will pave the way for increased Western pressure - if not war - on its strongest ally and founder, Shi'ite Iran. By losing Assad the group would also be deprived of its strategic partner and main supply line for its arsenal. "Hezbollah is at a point of enormous strategic uncertainty. ...

Turkish forces kill 15 Kurdish rebels in southeast Posted: 25 Jul 2012 12:05 PM PDT DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish security forces killed at least 15 Kurdish rebels in a raid near the country's border with Iraq after tracking them with drones and attacking them with helicopters and on the ground, officials said on Wednesday. The drones spotted a group of Kurdish fighters who blocked roads on Monday in Hakkari province, then pinpointed them for an attack when the Kurdish fighters returned to the same area on Tuesday evening, the security officials said. Three Turkish soldiers were injured in clashes that ensued, they said. ...

Big oil on the back foot in changing energy world Posted: 25 Jul 2012 11:47 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - It happens every time. Oil prices fall and the industry turns cannibal: big energy companies hunt out bargains among overstretched producers and promising explorers. It's the season for takeovers and asset deals again. Only this time, there are no easy pickings for the U.S. and European heavyweights such as Exxon , BP , Shell and Chevron . The oil "majors", which report second quarter results in the next few days, have rarely looked so threatened. ...

Capitol Hill Syria Briefing to Bring Attention to Plight of Refugees Posted: 25 Jul 2012 11:35 AM PDT WASHINGTON, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA), the leading humanitarian Muslim organization in the United States, will host a Capitol Hill briefing July 31 titled "Syria in Crisis: Refugees & the Challenges of the Humanitarian Responses." The event is intended to shed light on the ongoing plight of refugees who have fled the escalating violence in Syria. The crisis in Syria has escalated dramatically since it began 16 months ago and has resulted in the displacement of an estimated 1 million Syrians. ...

Birthers Get Their Own Campaign Ad Posted: 25 Jul 2012 11:00 AM PDT Why are the presidential candidates spending so much time raising so much money? To buy TV ads. In Ad Watch, we review the results of their heroic efforts as they come out. Today: Birthers get their very own TV ad, while a pro-President Obama group takes an Olympic shot at Mitt Romney. Plus: Allen West shows his caring side, and Elizabeth Warren says she's fighting for consumers.

THE RACE: Romney may avoid hitting Obama on trip Posted: 25 Jul 2012 10:47 AM PDT Mitt Romney says he will refrain from criticizing President Barack Obama while on foreign soil. That's in line with an old U.S. adage that "politics stops at the water's edge."

Syrian refugees simmer in Turkish camps Posted: 25 Jul 2012 10:44 AM PDT KILIS, Turkey (Reuters) - Tempers are running short in Syrian refugee camps just inside Turkey, where torrid summer heat and the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan are compounding complaints about living conditions and perceived mistreatment by the Turkish authorities. "They have broken our hearts, the Turks. Why are they doing this to us?" sobbed Umm Omar, huddling with her four children after choking on teargas fired by Turkish riot police to quell trouble over food distribution in the Kilis camp on Sunday. ...

Syrians in Iraq tell of shells 'like rain' and nightly hell Posted: 25 Jul 2012 10:43 AM PDT Having fled a city where shells fell "like rain" and children died in front of them, Syrian refugees spoke of the hell that would erupt every night as troops sought to retake their border town.

Syria fears send Israelis running for gas masks Posted: 25 Jul 2012 10:32 AM PDT "You've got to be prepared for anything with what's going on in Syria," said Benny Rahamim, one of a growing number of Israelis picking up gas masks as fears grow over Syria's chemical weapons.

Bomb-Disarming Robot Was First to Enter Alleged Aurora Shooter's Apartment Posted: 25 Jul 2012 10:27 AM PDT Bomb-Disarming Robot Was First to Enter Alleged Aurora Shooter's Apartment

Four things Syria must do after Bashar al-Assad Posted: 25 Jul 2012 10:23 AM PDT It's not too early to consider the way forward for Syria after Bashar al-Assad. Conflicts in Libya, Iraq, and elsewhere illustrate that by the time the battle reaches the capital, the night is far spent.

Romney and Obama on foreign policy: short on specifics Posted: 25 Jul 2012 10:01 AM PDT Down through the years, foreign policy has usually been given short shrift in US presidential election campaigns. Domestic issues generally dominate, and it looks as though the US economy and unemployment will get most of the attention this year.

Syrian rushes troops to Aleppo to fight rebels Posted: 25 Jul 2012 09:40 AM PDT Dozens of government tanks converged on Syria's largest city Wednesday as President Bashar Assad marshaled his forces to stamp out a five-day rebel fight to wrest Aleppo from the regime's grasp.

Analysis: In Syria crisis, stakes high for Hezbollah Posted: 25 Jul 2012 08:59 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah has publicly tied its future to Bashar al-Assad, but as the tide turns against the Syrian president it is silent on whether it will join the fight to support him. The stakes are high for the group which fears that toppling Assad will pave the way for increased Western pressure - if not war - on its strongest ally and founder, Shi'ite Iran. By losing Assad the group would also be deprived of its strategic partner and main supply line for its arsenal. "Hezbollah is at a point of enormous strategic uncertainty. ...

Syrians flee to "safer" Iraq through reopened border Posted: 25 Jul 2012 08:49 AM PDT OUTSIDE AL-QAIM, Iraq (Reuters) - At a bare concrete building on the western edge of Iraq, hundreds of Syrian refugee families wait in the shade, anxious to find out where they will spend the night after fleeing their homeland. Many of the men, women and children had come from the Syrian town of Albu Kamal and said Syrian rebel forces escorted them on the 7 km (4 miles) road to the main border gate with Iraq. Albu Kamal was captured by rebel forces last week in a push to seize Syria's international border crossings. ...

Alawite mountains offer limited shelter to Assad Posted: 25 Jul 2012 07:54 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - A century ago minority Alawites began a long journey from rural poverty in the mountains overlooking the eastern Mediterranean towards Syria's seat of power in Damascus. Now, with President Bashar al-Assad threatened by armed revolution, those mountains could offer a last sanctuary to his Alawite community if Sunni rebels were to overrun the capital. ...

America's Social Workers Join Dr. Jill Biden to Launch "Social Work and Service Members: Joining Forces to Support Veterans and Military Families" Posted: 25 Jul 2012 07:00 AM PDT National Association of Social Workers urges 650,000 professional social workers to gain education and training on mental and behavioral health, health, economic, and social challenges facing nation's veterans and military familiesWASHINGTON, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dr. ...

Five Best Wednesday Columns Posted: 25 Jul 2012 06:40 AM PDT Gary Alan Fine in The New York Times on Penn State's vacated victories Fine says George Orwell's "history clerks" would recognize the NCAA's decision to "vacate" 13 years of Penn State football victories as a sanction for the institutional cover up of Jerry Sandusky's crimes. "Surely Penn State the institution deserves sanctions for the deplorable actions of authorities," he writes. "And while this is not the first time that game outcomes have been vacated, changing 14 seasons of football history is a unique and disquieting response. ...

JAMIS Supports Veterans Through the Folds of Honor Foundation Posted: 25 Jul 2012 06:33 AM PDT JAMIS Software Corporation chooses the Folds of Honor Foundation as the recipient of their 2012 veterans support efforts.Lakewood, CO (PRWEB) July 25, 2012 JAMIS Software Corporation has selected Folds of Honor as the recipient of their 2012 veteran support efforts. The decision was based on Folds of Honor's outstanding efforts to support the spouses and children of soldiers killed or disabled in the fight to preserve American freedom. ...

Jewish Voters, British Journalism, and 'Homeland' Posted: 25 Jul 2012 06:33 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.

Turkey blocks trade with Syria, rebels fight on Posted: 25 Jul 2012 06:27 AM PDT Turkey sealed its border with Syria to trucks on Wednesday, effectively cutting off a trade relationship once worth almost $3 billion with the embattled nation, as regime forces fought to evict rebels from the country's largest city.

Qaeda says Iraq bloodshed marks new campaign Posted: 25 Jul 2012 06:18 AM PDT Al-Qaeda's front group in Iraq said Wednesday that a wave of attacks that killed 113 days earlier marked the launch of a new offensive, as officials said seven people died in new unrest.

Fearing spillover, Turkey closes border with Syria as Aleppo braces for war Posted: 25 Jul 2012 06:04 AM PDT • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Friendship Place Awarded Major Grant from Department of Veterans Affairs to Help End Veteran Homelessness Posted: 25 Jul 2012 05:08 AM PDT WASHINGTON, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of a nationwide initiative to end homelessness among Veterans, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs awarded Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place a $994,702 grant to serve homeless and at-risk Veterans in DC, Maryland and Virginia."This funding gives us an incredible opportunity to make a lasting impact on Veteran homelessness," said Jean-Michel Giraud, Executive Director of Friendship Place. ...

Al Qaeda claims responsibility for attacks in Iraq Posted: 25 Jul 2012 04:18 AM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq has claimed responsibility for scores of attacks across the country targeting mostly Shi'ite Muslim targets this week which killed and wounded hundreds of people. The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) said in a statement posted on radical Islamist websites on Tuesday that it was behind the recent attacks, which it called its "Destroying the Walls" campaign and said was the start of a "new stage of jihad". At least 116 people were killed and about 300 wounded in bomb and gun attacks on Monday, by far the bloodiest day of violence since U.S. ...

Bomb kills Iraq policeman's wife, children Posted: 25 Jul 2012 03:58 AM PDT A car bomb has killed the wife and four children of a policeman in central Iraq, a day after 113 people died in the country's deadliest day in two and half years, police and medics said.

Turkey closing Syrian border to commerce, not refugees Posted: 25 Jul 2012 02:46 AM PDT GENEVA (Reuters) - - Turkey is closing its border with Syria to commercial traffic but will keep it open for refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict, a UNHCR spokeswoman said on Wednesday. "We've received assurances that it is staying open. The border is closed for all commercial traffic in both directions, that is what we heard from the Turkish government," Sybella Wilkes, spokeswoman of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told Reuters. About 300 Syrians had crossed overnight into Turkey, she added, some of them are using informal crossing points. ...

Soldier in New Ad: Allen West Saved My Life Posted: 25 Jul 2012 02:32 AM PDT In an ad set to air during the Olympics, a soldier who served with Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., in Iraq said the lawmaker saved his life by giving him body armor that blocked AK-47 fire.

Al-Qaida claims responsibility for Iraq killings Posted: 25 Jul 2012 01:59 AM PDT An al-Qaida affiliate group in Iraq has claimed responsibility for Monday's wave of attacks that killed 115 people across the country and wounded hundreds others.

10 things you need to know today: July 25, 2012 Posted: 25 Jul 2012 01:35 AM PDT Syrian rebels prepare to fight for Aleppo, Christian Bale visits Aurora shooting victims, and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

Absolute Rights Newsletter from Tuesday Spotlights Gun Rights, Voting, and Survival Posted: 25 Jul 2012 01:02 AM PDT Politics, gun rights, and survival are covered in Absolute Rights' most recent Newsletter.Austin, TX (PRWEB) July 25, 2012 The semiweekly Newsletter from Absolute Rights has been published, and readers are staying educated on their civil rights with the valuable information in it. The Aurora, Colorado catastrophe, survival technology, voting, and Iraqi violence are all commented on.The main article was written by Absolute Rights Managing Editor Tim Young. It talks about the exploitation of tragedies like the recent movie theater shootings. ...

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